


Home Is Where The Heart Is

by AnomolisticBeauty



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff, mild body horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-10-01 11:23:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10188866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnomolisticBeauty/pseuds/AnomolisticBeauty
Summary: The Heartstone has a very peculiar, uninvited intruder. Much to his chagrin, Jim puts Draal in charge of keeping an eye on them.Who are they and are they going to worm their way into his stony heart?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So! A few things I'd like to say before you dive into reading this~
> 
> This takes place post Season 1, so if you want to avoid spoilers, here's your warning, because I will be referring to major events at points in this story.  
> The only major change to the canon placement of this is that it doesn't acknowledge Jim going into the Darklands, so basically just pretend that the last bit of the series didn't happen. Jim is still in Arcadia Oaks, and they are in the process of preparing to face Gunmar. 
> 
> This is actually my first piece of fic in almost a year because of medical problems and dealing with mental heath stuff.  
> I'm hoping that writing this fresh story will pull me in and motivate me enough to pick up a large story I abandoned last year from another fandom.
> 
> Because it's been so long since I've written, I am a bit out of practice, and to top it off I am without a Beta Reader right now. So if you catch any glaring typos or the like, feel free to let me know!  
> So if you have experience with Beta-ing and want to, feel free to get in contact with me!  
> I try to check it myself but it's always a more thorough job to have someone else check your work for grammar mistakes and to give motivating feedback.
> 
> NOW THEN! 
> 
> On to the actual story folks:

“Much better, Trollhunter! Do not just defend your opponents attacks, but be a step ahead! You must anticipate their movements and attacks. Use their moves against them!” 

Draal let out a chuckle and smirked at the young Trollhunter who had just jumped ahead of his attack and deflected it beautifully. 

Jim smirked back and replied breathily. “I told you; I’m learning the ropes by now. I’m not just some newbie anymore, Draal.” 

They two were sparring in the Hero’s Forge. It wasn’t often that Draal came into Trollmarket anymore, but Jim had convinced him to make brief appearances more often now, even if only to take advantage of the Forge for their training sessions now. Draal had finally been beaten into submission, ignoring his pride, after many long winded speeches about times and traditions changing since having their first human Trollhunter. Granted, he didn’t believe them, but even he knew the advantage of training in the Forge over the Trollhunter’s back yard. Especially with the ever looming potential threat of Gunmar’s return. 

Draal braced himself as Jim changed positions, preparing to lunge at him again. They both stopped short when they heard a BOOM in the distance. They exchanged confused and slightly worried glances.

It only took a moment for a short heavyset troll to run into the entrance of the Forge, shouting. “TROLLHUNTER! Something’s happening in the market! Quick, Trollhunter!” 

Blinky was only a moment behind the shorter troll, appearing equally as alarmed. “Master Jim, I believe someone, or something, has tried to make entry into Trollmarket, and by means other than a horngazel.” He looked both perplexed and very worried as he finished his sentence. 

Draal and Jim shared a moment’s glance before quickly taking off, following Blinky and the other troll towards the sound of the explosion. 

It didn’t take them long to find the source of the sound. They quickly made their way through the panicked crowd, in the direction of an alarmingly thick cloud of smoke. 

The closer to the source of the sound they got, small clusters of trolls had crowded together, muttering and gossiping amongst themselves, their worry visibly fading as the saw that the Trollhunter was on the case and going to deal with whatever was going on. Toby caught up with them as they neared the billowing cloud of smoke, panting. “J-Jim! Man, I leave for 15 minutes for a taco run and things start exploding!” 

The stout younger boy took gulping breaths. “So what’s going on? What’d I miss?” 

Jim shook his head and glanced at Draal, whose face had turned stern and focused, a slight cross of worry and curiosity barely noticeable in his eyes. “I dunno, Tobes. We’re about to find out though.”

The group slowed and came to a halt as they heard a low cough and hack come from the cloud. Bits of debris and rubble were near the cloud and the smoke was a strange mix of colors, everything from blues and greens to purples wisping together and billowing out as something clearly started making it’s way from inside. 

An arm appeared and started batting at the smoke, waving around and trying to clear the air in front of them as they hacked and coughed harder for a moment before clearing their throat. A strange, almost mechanical voice came from the haze. “Well, you sure made SOMETHING happen! I told you it wasn’t ready yet!” 

Another voice, more softer and distinctly feminine, with a slight gravel to it chimed in. “Oh shush, it’s fine, you worry wort. Gods, I can’t see a thing.” 

The pair of trolls and the two humans all froze in unison, exchanging quick looks as the intruder came into view as the thickest of the clouds cleared. A human shape appeared and came into view. 

The intruder was a short young woman, clad in a leather jacket with an old hoodie poking out from the collar, worn jeans, and large sturdy boots. They had a strap across their chest, holding a weathered backpack to their back, and finger-less gloves covering their hands. Long wispy hair hung down their chest and back, fading from a deep green to white at the ends. 

The young woman coughed again, waving away another waft of smoke before futily wiping at the motorcycle goggles over her face. She quickly gave up, lifting the goggles and pulling them down to hang around her neck, glancing around and squinting for a moment, taking in her surroundings. 

After a moment’s pause her eyes lit up and her arms flew over her head as she shouted excitedly and jumped, startling the group. “YES! It worked! Oh, I just knew it! I knew iiiiit! I finally did it! OH MY GOD I’M IN TROLLMARKET!” The strange young woman had started to spin and laugh, celebrating her apparent achievement. 

Toby was the first to speak up as they all stood in shock, trying to process what was going on. “Wait! How did a human get in here without a horngazel?! Who is that?!” He looked to Jim, his eyebrows quirking together. 

Blinky finally chimed in. “How indeed! Who are you! Why have you come to Trollmarket? And HOW? Actually, why do you even know of this place!” The scholar’s curiosity was quickly replacing his initial fear and caution, upon seeing their very strange and unexpected intruder. 

The young woman’s attention shot to Blinky, a wide grin plastered across her face, a giggle escaping her. “Transportation magic!!”

Blinky huffed. “Why, there’s no such thing...” 

In a flash the young woman was inches away from Blinky, a finger waggling between them. “It’s just a matter of having an open mind! If you use the right combination of translocation spell and splice it into a portable gps system. Granted it’s not the prettiest entrance, but I mean that is small change in exchange for what you are getting out of it! I mean...If you have the exact coordinates and-” Her words seemed to get faster and more enthusiastic. 

The original voice the group had heard from the debris cloud suddenly spoke up. “Now you’ve gone and done it. You’ll never shut her up once you get her rambling about her little projects and theories…” The voice had come from the pack over the woman’s shoulder. 

After a moment, a slender mechanized cat appeared from the pack, lightly making it’s way onto her shoulder before patting down onto the ground beside her. It’s eyes had an eerie blue glow and the circuitry inside of them visibly moved and focused as it took in the group before them, pausing on each of them for a fraction of a second. 

Toby jumped behind Jim, yelping. “WHOAH. Wait, Jim? Jim! Is that a ROBOT CAT? And is it talking?” 

Jim shifted his weight from one foot to the other, still reeling to a degree. “Huh.Um… yeah, I think it is Tobes.” 

The cat’s eyes seemed to narrow in annoyance and it audibly huffed as it sat down. 

Hearing the older boy speak up finally caught the young woman’s attention. She glanced at him and looked him up and down for a moment before gasping slightly and quickly slinking up to him in the quick, excited way she had to Blinky. “Ohhhhh it’s YOU!” 

Jim leaned back, his face screwing up tight at the woman’s obvious lack of care about invading another person’s personal space as she inspected his armor. “Um, yeah, it’s me! Who’s me and why do you care?” 

Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “You’re the human Trollhunter! Everyone and anyone knows who you are. And I get to meet you! Wow! And the rumors are true; you’re so young!” She blew a small puff of air towards her forehead, blowing a strand of her messy green hair from her face. 

Finally Draal growled and stepped up close to Jim and the strange newcomer, reaching to grab her. “Everyone, huh? And what kind of fleshbag knows what the Trollhunter is? Knows about Trollmarket? You’re just some Impure scum trying to sneak in, aren’t you!”   
The young woman quirked an eyebrow as she took in Draal’s lumbering size and intimidating, suspicious stare, looking him up and down for what felt like hours. 

She pouted and let out a small sigh, attempting to wriggle from his grip, the corner of her mouthing already turning up again. “Ah, right! Sorry, big guy! I got so wrapped up in things that I forgot to show my hall pass.” 

Jim and Toby exchanged a quick glance, Toby covering his mouth to suppress a chuckle, while the trolls in the group simply looked confused again. 

The robotic cat spoke up from the floor, his tone managing to come off bored. “You have to let go of her if any of us want to get ANYWHERE with this, you know.” 

Draal growled deep in his throat again and looked to Jim, who thought for a brief moment before nodding and signaling to let the young woman go. 

With a sigh she shrugged off her jacket, leaving her in simply a black tank top; her arms and wrists were wrapped in hand tied leather and cloth bracers. She untied the straps holding the leather to her forearm and wrist on her right arm, revealing the skin underneath. Hidden beneath it was a relatively large scar, raised and angry looking, though obviously long since healed. It was a brand in the shape of a troll’s profile, surrounded in sigils.

Blinky gasped loudly. “That’s the symbol of the Pawas Tribe. They only place that mark on the trolls of their tribe; to have that means to be acknowledged as one of their own. But… they’re an extremely reclusive and secretive tribe. They don’t even allow other trolls to enter their dwelling, let alone a human! How on this wide Earth do you have their mark?!” 

The young woman smirked. “Yeah, the Chief kinda took a fancy to me. I may have hooked them up with satellite? The downside of being so reclusive and living so hidden away is they don’t get much from the outside world. So… cable!” She let out a laugh and smiled again, wrapping her forearm and wrist again as she continued. “Technomancy is kinda my thing. I can rig a cell phone to always have a signal, so something like that was a breeze, and more than fair for getting to stay with them for awhile. We kinda grew on each other. When I left they marked me. As protection, ya know?” 

Blinky seemed absolutely flabbergasted. 

Draal puffed himself up, obviously still not convinced. “It could be fake. Wouldn’t be beyond an impure to mangle their arm if it meant a free pass into troll lands. I saw we get a gagletak and test her…” He didn’t move from his spot, but the fist of his existing arm clenched tight. 

The young woman stopped, her arm half pulling on her jacket, and looked up at Draal as he finished his statement. She slowly shrugged the jacket on, pulling the green and white lock from her collar as her eyes met his, narrowing in irritation. “If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a fucking liar. Ask your four armed friend. This isn’t something I could, or WOULD, fake.” 

The cat at her feet got up and started to snake itself around her legs, the boredom on it’s face ever apparent. 

Jim raised his hands up as a show of good faith, his armor fading away from his body in wisps as he stepped between Draal and the girl. “Woah, woah, okay everyone, let’s be cool! So far it looks like no one wants to fight- Besides you Draal!” Jim shot a look to Draal as he had taken a breath to argue. 

“So, Blinky? You’re the expert here; can we trust her? What she said checks out?” 

Blinky’s eyes each blinked in turn and he nodded. “Oh! Why yes. The mark of the Pawas is something that couldn’t be counterfeit. Each member’s mark is specific to them. It is applied a manner that cannot be mistaken or removed, though I have never heard of a human being marked by a troll tribe. It must have been excruciating, to say the least!” His hands wrung together as he had started muttering and rambling. 

Jim easily accepted his teacher’s word though and looked to Draal again. “See? Okay. Let’s just take things one at a time.” He turned to face the young woman fully. “To start with, what’s you name? Why are you here?” 

The young woman had been busying herself with her pack while the group had been discussing amongst themselves, back to being completely unphased by them. She tightened the strap across her chest and met his eyes in turn as her lit up, realizing his question. “Jeez, Louise! I am just off my rocker today! Um, name, right… so... Most people just call me Drifter, since I don’t stay in one place for long, honestly. So feel free to call me that, if you want, it doesn’t bother me one way or another.” 

Jim’s eyebrow raised. “Drifter? How do you not have a name?” 

One of the woman’s arms wrapped around her waist as her other hand went to tap on her chin as she thought. “Well, I mean, if you don’t like that I guess just call me Kaba? That was the name the Pawas gave me when they marked me, so that’s the closest thing to a troll name I have, I guess!” 

Blinky was reeling. “They gave you your troll name? This is amazing; I’ve never heard of such a thing. You simply must tell me all about your time with the Pawas sometime!” 

The young woman, Kaba, chuckled and nodded. “Yeah okay, sounds good, I guess. I’d love to swap some stories. Maybe you could fill me on on some of the specific history of Trollmarket; I’m just dying to know everything!” 

Jim closed the distance that had started to form as she had started to wander towards Blinky while they excitedly spoke, hands waving about. “Okay. So, Kaba! That’s the ‘who’ now, just ‘why’?”

 

Kaba turned and looked directly into Jim’s eyes unblinkingly. She shrugged slightly and spoke slowly and earnestly. “Well… why not? I’ve been all over the world. Met trolls from everywhere and seen so many places. Everyone has heard of the Trollmarket here and especially it being where the Trollhunter is. So, who wouldn’t want to come once in their life? Especially with how hard it can be to get in here if you aren’t FROM here. Why not try? See if I could do it.” 

“Huh…” Jim thought on the answer, mulling it over. “Well… okay then, I guess! Though humans in the market is still a pretty new thing and might cause a bit of an uproar so it’s probably not a good idea to just go…” He indicated the the rubble from Kaba’s grand entrance. “Well, doing stuff like that to get around.” 

“We don’t have a reason to not trust you, but we don’t exactly know you either, if you catch my drift. So we can’t… exactly… leave you alone yet.” Jim’s face scrunched apologetically. 

Kaba shrugged. “I get it. You think I just waltzed into Pawa territory and was welcomed with open arms? Well I mean I practically did walk right into their camp but hoo boy that was not on purpose and it was not a walk in the park. But anyway! Yeah it’s cool. I gotta earn your trust, I get it. So, who’s my escort?” Her hands lightly rest on her hips as she looked around. 

Toby waved a hand and pointed to his watch. “Uh, so I know not the best time, but we have got to GO soon, Jim. Your mom is off tonight and you said she’d be home early. You said the remind you so you’d have time to get your español done and still have time to get stuff ready for her sooooo…” 

Jim’s hands went to his head. “Oh my God, Tobes, you’re right. Man…” He let out a sigh and swept his gaze over Trollmarket and over to Blinky and Draal. “You know how important tonight is, Blinky, think you could do anything?” 

Blinky gave an apologetic frown. “I could, but I am in the middle of researching a possible lead that would provide a possible weakness for your impending altercation with Gunmar. As it is I have dallied far too long and should be returning to my books.” 

Jim sighed and clapped his hands together. “Okay then! Congrats, Draal! You are officially on Kaba duty!” 

Draal physically drooped as disbelief and horror crept across his face. “You must be kidding. You expect me to babysit this meatbag?” He pointed a large finger at Kaba to stress his point. 

She eyed his hand as he pointed at her, vaguely amused. 

Jim rubbed a hand across his face. “Yes. Yes, I do, Draal. At least until tomorrow. It’s Friday, so at least give me until tomorrow morning. And preferably stay out of Vendel’s sight for now? I do not have the time to keep his pants untwisted about this right now... Now, I have to go. So play nice and I mean it!” 

The young Trollhunter and his stout friend turned to make their way back through the market and start their trek home, leaving the two trolls with their human guest. Binky opened his mouth to speak but kept quiet when he saw the irritation practically oozing off of Draal. Raising a finger as he opened his mouth again, he let a breath go and shook his head, grabbing one of Kaba’s hands between his own and shaking it. “I do regret not being able to give you more of my time right now. I do look forward to our talk soon though.” He gave her hand one final pap, gaining a gentle, understanding smile in return as he turned to scurry away as quickly as he could manage. 

Kaba eyed Draal with her peripheral vision before turning to fully face him, extending a hand to him. “So! Draal, huh?” 

Draal eyed her hand for a moment before turning away, and starting to make his away from the crowded market. “The Trollhunter may have asked me to keep you from getting into trouble, but that doesn’t mean I have to be friendly. Keep your head down and out of trouble. Let’s get out of this forsaken market already.”

Kaba pouted and huffed for a moment, quickly recovering and reaching down towards her mechanical companion to let him jump into her arms. He crawled up and onto her shoulders, wrapping himself around her neck and seeming to dozed off as she trotted off after Draal. When she caught up to him and was by his side she slowed down to keep pace with him. “Why do we have to leave? I only just got here, can’t you show me around at least a little bit?” she feined a grumble and let out an intentionally loud sigh. “Unless it’s okay with you that I show myself around? Maybe that Vendel guy could tell me where everything is.” A mischievous smirk crept across her face. 

Draal stopped in his tracks and snorted loudly at her, his annoyance rising. “What a troublesome human!” 

Kaba giggled and held her arms behind her back, her hands clutching her elbows as she made a show of a large step forward away from him. “Yup, that’s my middle name!” 

Draal clenched his fists but took a turn near them, leading her back towards the well lit market through a makeshift alley. He grumbled under his breath for a moment. “Well? Are you coming? I’d like to make this quick!” 

Kaba jumped happily and followed behind him.

They walked mostly in silence for a few minutes, Draal avoiding occasional glances from other trolls and ignoring the attention the two of them were drawing, steering them away from more crowded areas.

While they walked, occasionally Kaba would ask questions are excitedly run up to something to jabber to herself about it. Strangely enough, she took as much interest in the surrounding stone and crystal formations and the area itself, as she had in the market itself. Draal hadn’t noticed, however, that Kaba was watching him intently out of the corner of her eye during their quiet moments simply walking next to each other. 

Finally Kaba spoke up, not stopping her calm saunter to turn to look at him, merely casting a glance towards Draal’s arm suspiciously. “So...is that why you don’t want to be seen around here and want to leave?” 

Draal stopped and blinked in confusion. After a moment his mind processed her question and he help up his prosthetic metal arm, clenching the fist tight. “No. No, this was something else… I do not belong here anymore. I was shamed in combat against the Trollhunter and now live in exile… I am not shunned, but I am shamed and cannot stand the stares. My reputation was destroyed enough, I will not lower myself more to look a beggar of pity.”

Kaba stopped walking and turned around to face the large troll, slightly regretting the question. “Ah, I’m sorry… I mean…” She watched him stare at the arm, lost in thought. 

After a moment, her eyes lit up as realization dawned on her. “Wait! That means… That means you’re Draal!” 

Draal looked at her like she had grown a second head. “Yes, you are already aware of that fact. What of it?” 

Her hands spread wide by her face to emphasize her excitement. “No, you fought the Trollhunter! That means you're not just any Draal.You’re Draal the Deadly! Son of Kanjigar, the last Trollhunter! Oh my Gods, I can’t believe it’s YOU!” 

Kaba quickly closed the distance between them, her smile ear to ear. Draal found himself unsure how to react to her sudden admiration of him so he stepped back, cautiously eyeing her as she looked over him with newfound enthusiasm. Her gaze stopped on his hand and she reached out, barely not touching the metal. “That means…. That means you lost this to the Bridge…” 

Her last sentence rang loudly in Draal’s ears. Her quickly reached forward and gripped her in his artificial hand, pulling his face close to her and glaring menacingly. The mechanical cat on her shoulders awoke and hissed at him, standing up glaring back. 

“And how do you know about the Bridge, fleshbag…” Draal growled the words at her.

Kaba coughed as Draal’s grip tightened. She did her best to put her hands out as much as she could, palms towards him as a sign of friendship. “I only know because I have ears to the ground! I promise! I hear rumors all the time; it comes with never staying in one place long.” 

Draal considered her words for a moment and let her go. He was still suspicious but could shrug it off as coincidence, at least for now. Kaba coughed again and tilted her head back so she could meet his eyes. 

“I promise, Draal. It’s not something that anyone really knows. I’m just good at finding out rumors and intel. More than half of what I hear is utter bullshit. Just loons rambling. I didn’t even know it was true until just now…” Her mouth pursed tightly, her eyes trying to convey her honesty. “Trust me, Draal… or at least… you don’t have to trust me, okay? But know that I will never, ever lie. It’s against my code. I can’t do it. I wouldn’t. But especially over something important like that.” 

The mechanical cat on her shoulder calmed slightly now that Draal had released his human partner, but still eyed him warily. “I don’t like this one… he’s going to kill you with that mechanical monstrosity. Though I can’t tell you whether it’s intentional or accidental will be beyond me…” 

Kaba shushed him and looked again to Draal. He had visibly calmed, but still seemed to be shoulder tension and mistrust. She looked down to his arm again and got an idea. She pointed down to the prosthetic slowly. “Do you mind if I?...” 

Confusion overtook Draal. He looked at his arm for a moment, considering, before shrugging and holding his hand out to her. 

Kaba yanked the hand closer to her face, carefully inspecting it. She turned his hand over and clenched the fingers, watching each joint and listening to it, nodding her head on occasion. Not a hingle or surface was left unchecked. After a few more awkward moments she spoke up at him, not looking away. “You probably have issues with the grip, am I right? Loosening joints over time? And the material itself is seeing a fair bit of wear and tear; it looks like it’s had the ever loving shit beaten out of it… I could at least tighten things up really quick, fix your grip problem and maybe get rid of this slight grinding noise in your second hinge…”

 

Draal eyed her suspiciously for a second until she noticed the silence hanging in the air as his response. She snickered. “I promise I’m not just talking out my ass. Look, see?” 

The green and white hair young woman kneeled down, rolling up her pant leg past her knee. Beneath it was an artificial limb that attached a few inches above the knee. Draal’s mouth dropped; he had been completely unaware and hadn’t noticed any of her movements being hindered. 

One of her hands snaked to her kneecap, pressing in a small lever that opened a hidden compartment on her shin. Inside were a few small tools, screwdrivers and pliers and the like. Draal noticed what looked like over bits of wire and parts too, but was trying to avoid staring. 

She pulled out a few screwdrivers and tools and pulled them out, closing the compartment and yanking down her pant leg.

Before Draal could say anything, she had begun attending to his hand, her brows pinched together in concentration. She occasionally muttered under her breath in a language Draal didn’t recognize. 

“Do you mind if I ask?” Draal quietly inquired after a moment of watching her go to work on his arm. They were sitting down cross legged in front of each other, her concentrating and ignoring the world around her as he consciously looked away, avoiding looking directly at her while still taking in every bit of her from the side of his eye. 

She replied without stopping or even looking up from her work. “Yeah, it’s okay. It’s not like it’s some big deal anyway. I gave it up.”

Draal’s face whipped over to stare directly at her, his voice raising slightly. “You.. gave it up?” 

Kaba nodded. “Yup. For a witches’ favor.” 

Draal was reeling. “And what did you need badly enough to warrant a favor from a witch?” 

He spat the last word, which finally drew Kaba’s full attention. She looked up at him and their eyes locked onto each other intensely. “I gave it up for his life.” She nodded her head towards the mechanical cat who had made himself comfortable a few feet away next to her pack. 

“That’s blasphemous; who would give up a leg for a robotic pet, especially some cat? You humans keep dozens of them nearby at any given time. For us they are barely a snack…” 

Kaba finally pulled her hand away from her tinkering and placed them on her hips, staring intently up at him. “Firstly, he has a name; it’s Darwin! So don’t forget it! And secondly, he wasn’t always like this… he was a normal cat. And I gave it up because I would have given anything… he was… well, he was my only friend… I couldn’t just let him die… so I gave up my leg to have a witch bind his soul to the body I made. I’d do it all over again!” 

She continued, “Besides… it ended up paying off… the old crone was so impressed she took me in and mentored me until I got older. So as disgusted at the idea of a witch as you sound, guess what buddy? I am one, so if you’d kindly not talk about us like we're scum of the earth… Now, I’d like to finish fixing up your arm. Which I am doing for free and because I’m a nice person, mind you!” 

She let out a little ‘harumph’ and grabbed Draal’s hand back, finishing what she was working with. He solemnly watched her in silence, occasionally glancing at her leg. She grinned, having noticed his failed attempt to not get caught. “I made my prosthetic myself you know. As top of the line as I can get with what I could get my hands on. Can’t even tell it’s fake; it’s like it just… part of me. Comes in pretty handy.”

After a moment her face lit up and she held up a finger at him, signaling to give her a moment. 

She thrust the tools she had been using into his other hand and he looked to her mechanical companion, Darwin, she had said his name was, who only looked away from him, still mistrusting the lumbering troll. 

Kaba returned from digging around in her pack with a low exclamation of ‘Ahah! There you are!” 

She came over to Draal and held up two pieces of stone to him, comparing them carefully before nodding to herself. She tosses one of the stones back into her pack before thrusting the other into a sachet she had also procured from said bag. The sachet was quickly popped into a square metal locket, hung on a long strip of leather. All the while the young woman muttered under her breath in the language Draal couldn’t recognize again. 

She held up the leather and metal piece with an accomplished grin. “And there we go! Come here, big guy!” 

Kaba stood up and went to Draal’s side, tying the leather strap around his bicep. 

“What magic dare you perform on me, meatbag…” Draal grumbled, confused and fighting the gut instinct to shove her away, his curiosity overwhelming his gut reaction. 

“Just gimme a sec aaaaaaand… Done!” Kaba’s hands flew away from the strap and she stepped back, smiling, pressing the center of the metal locket, where a button compressed in slightly for a moment. 

Draal watched in amazement as the lower edge of the leather strap lit up, glowing a bright white for a moment before flaring and changing to a blue tone. Suddenly his prosthetic arm was covered in a light circuit pattern. Starting from the bottom of the leather strap, tiny pixels built their way down his arm, becoming more detailed and clear until his entire arm was covered. 

He couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared down at what used to be his metal prosthetic. It looked like his arm again. He gave his fist a tight flex as a test and reached over with his left hand to touch the skin of his right hand. It was firm and felt… real. He stared down at the young woman in wonder. “How… What witchcraft is this…”

Kaba smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms over her waist. “Sadly it’s not real… I can’t work miracles, mind you… It’s a synthetic. Kind of like a hologram but it can project a physical form thanks to a little magic tweaking. I know it’s probably all Greek to you so I won’t get into the specifics… but as long as you wear that-” She pointed to the leather band that still showed on his bicep. 

“If you have it turned on? Viola! Not that there’s any shame in a prosthetic, I say. But I totally understand wanting to just… blend in… missing it, ya know? But yeah, I had gotten my hands on this double terminated blue quartz piece when I was in Brazil, which I know it’s not an exact match, but I used that as a source for the spell so it could take that to build a kind of ‘skin’ or flesh for you and it would match pretty close-” 

Darwin spoke up, coughing under his breath. “You’re rambling again, Kaba.” 

She knocked herself on the head and laughed. “Shit, you’re right, I know. Sorry! So! What do you think?” 

Kaba paused and awkwardly watched Draal in silence, unsure of how he’d react. She knew she had been assumptive and taken the task upon herself in retrospect. 

Draal sit sat, staring at his hand, closing and opening the fingers and touching the palm with his other hand. After what felt like hours, he glanced up at the leather strap around his bicep and looked up to Kaba. He stood up, towering over her short frame. 

She started twiddling her thumb nervously and let out an awkward, breathy laugh. 

She jolted when he reached out with the fake arm and grabbed her shoulder, looking her in the eye. “... Thank you…. Maybe you’re not too bad for a fleshbag.” He smirked and let out a snort. “Don’t think this means I trust you as far as the Trollhunter could throw you!” 

Kaba took a moment to process Draal’s reaction before her face lit up, wider and happier than it had been all day. “Oh thank goodness…” 

Draal coughed and handed her the rest of her tools, so tiny in his hand, and waited while she replaced them in their appropriate storage spaces in her leg and pack. Once she has finished gathering her things, he grabbed her bag from her silently and walking away. 

He called over his shoulder, attempting to keep his scowl. “Come on, already, witch. Tis almost sunrise. Since it’s my duty to keep an eye on you, you’ll simply have to come along to the Trollhunter’s where I can do just that.” 

Kaba bent down to pick up Darwin, who curled up in her hood as she caught up to the troll.

“So you really live with the Trollhunter? You’re really his bodyguard?” One of her hands reached over her shoulder to scratch at Darwin’s ear, eliciting a soft, mechanical purr. She took notice of Draal’s sudden insistence to carry her pack, which brought a smile to her face, though she intentionally made no mention of it. She silently pondered and joked that he seemed the tsundere type. As the thought crossed her mind she snorted, covering her nose and mouth with her hands and looking away as Draal looked at her in bewilderment. 

He ignored her momentary outburst. “Yes… and you will be too for now, so long it’s my job to watch you. I won’t neglect one responsibility just because of another. I have a space below.” 

Kaba smiled. “My, how honorable and responsible of you. I’d expect nothing less of Draal the Deadly though.” 

Draal couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his face at her words. He quickly tried to hide it and return to his scowl, but they both knew she had caught it. 

Kaba kicked a pebble away that lay in her path as she mused to herself, smiling and letting out a soft chuckle. “ Ah… So I guess I’ll be staying in a teenagers basement for now… Well. I guess I’ve lived in stranger places at least...” 

“Hmm?” Draal turned his head to look at her, having missed what she had said, lost in his own thoughts. 

“Oh, nothing!” Kaba smiled up at him, her eyes squinting up tight and her round cheeks overwhelming her face. Draal found it strangely endearing. 

He shook his head and led the way out of Heartstone and towards his underground path to the Trollhunter’s home. 

This strange young human... whether she would be trouble or not he couldn’t yet tell. One thing he was certain of though, was that she was intriguing. Maybe having to keep her under his watch wouldn’t be as hard as he had initially anticipated...


	2. Chapter 2

Draal watched the strange young human as she crouched over her latest project. If it were any other time, he would be busying himself with something in the access tunnels he had created, or ferreting something he needed into the basement he called home these days. But alas, it was daylight and the Trollhunter’s mother, The Barbara, was away today, meaning he could be lenient with his task of watching the residence that sat only feet above his head. 

So he attended to his other task.

Watching Kaba. 

Today that meant sitting across from her in said basement, taking the job extremely literally, as she had hunkered down the minute she awoke to tinker away at something.

She stopped for only a moment to pull her hair atop her head and tie it into two twin buns, the white tips of her hair wrapping and wisping around the messy knots. Her jackets and tank had since been exchanged for a black shirt, the sleeves so long they hung past her fingers and she had to keep shoving them up to her elbows while she worked; it was noticeably old and worn, multiple holes and tears visible in a plethora of places. 

Draal watched with curiosity, unable to make out what she was making of the small parts, but feigned boredom, crossing his arms and letting out a tired snuff. 

Kaba didn’t move a muscle, seeming to have either completely ignored his audible huff, or the more likely, was so entranced with what she was working on that she didn’t even notice. 

Darwin, however, gave him the same bored, annoyed face that he always shot Draal’s way when he spoke. Or did anything really. Draal wasn’t sure if the agitated face always being directed at him was because the mechanical creature downright disliked him, or if he was always this way. 

Draal ignored the glare and looked to Kaba again, who was now hunched over so far into her work that her face was mere inches away from it. She had pulled her goggles up and was using a tool of some sort to solder and weld underneath an overlap of two tiny pieces. Not even a moment after his attention had been drawn to her, she let out a yelp and a string of curses, most of which were in Troll and even made Draal’s mouth gape, dropping the tool as well as the pieces. 

Darwin was up and inspecting her hand in the blink of an eye, already fussing over her, and at her, before Draal could do more than stand up and take a step. 

“ I was wondering how long it would take you to hurt yourself this time. I can’t tell if you’re just stubborn or stupid enough to think a little bit of magic means you will stop doing this. You have gloves, stop neglecting to wear them.” The feline’s words were harsh but his tone was soft and concerned, despite the mechanical hum.   
Kaba pulled the goggles down and pouted, shooing him away and shoving part of the side of her finger into her mouth. She occasionally removed it to blow at her hand and respond to the mothering creature, rolling her eyes. 

“It’s fine! It’s barely anything. Besides it’s all part of the process. Granted not an intentional part, but still. Not to mention, maybe remind me BEFORE I start working with magic and high heat.” 

Darwin squinted at her and let out an exasperated sigh. “Once you’ve sucked yourself into one of your projects, we both know nothing can get your attention. A war could be raging around you and you wouldn’t even notice.” 

She chuckled and stuck the finger back in her lips, a sharp, pained intake of breath escaping her. 

Draal stepped forward. “You are injured?...” He eyed her hand as he asked. 

Kaba finally looked over at Draal, only seeming to just now notice he was even there still. She showed her hand to him, her palm facing him, a fresh burn mark, already raising and glaring an angry red. It joined countless others, most of which were old and long since healed and scarred over. “Yeah, it’s nothing! I get these all the time, I just get so wrapped up in what I’m doing that even my hands just, seem to get in the way!” She let out another laugh, obviously to try to defuse and redirect the conversation. “ I’ll just ice it and wrap it and I’m good to go again.” 

Draal rumbled deep in his chest and eyed her as she pulled the hand up to her lips again. “You meatbags are far too weak. So delicate. It’s a wonder how you all survive at all….” 

He looked up at the ceiling above them and listened for a moment. After only hearing silence, he deduced that they were still alone and that the Trollhunter’s mother hadn’t returned. He turned to lumber up the stairs. “Before anyone returns, go ahead and take care of it, then…. I’ll keep watch.” 

Kaba blinked up at him as he ascended the stairs, which were far too small for the troll’s large build. She only paused to watch him a moment before following him up and into the small kitchen area. 

Kaba was in the middle of letting her hand sit under the kitchen faucet, grumbling at the resulting sting of the cold tap running over it, when she and Draal were both alerted by the sound of the front door’s lock clicking. They exchanged a glance and both dove into the nook by the basement door. 

Draal peered around the corner as carefully as he could so he could see who was entering the home. He let out an audibly relieved sigh and lumbered out from his hiding spot when he saw it was merely the young Trollhunter. 

Jim looked up at the troll and waved a hand at him in greeting, dropping his bag to the floor of the entryway. “Hey, Draal. My mom got called in for work so we cut lunch short. I’m just by to drop some stuff off and then I’m meeting Toby and Claire. So if you wanna come to the Forge with us, just give me a-” 

His sentence stopped short when he saw Kaba step from behind Draal and into his kitchen, giving a small wave before helping herself to the first aid box on top of the fridge. “Ah, Kaba, that’s right. So, maybe a dumb question but… why my house?” 

Kaba shrugged her shoulders and nodded over to the troll between them. “Hey, I’m a big girl. But I haven’t exactly gone about setting up camp since your guard dog over there doesn’t want me galavanting all over town. Besides, it’s not like I don’t have things to stay busy. I’m in no rush. Sorry to impose and all, though. I can get outta here if you want.” All the while she spoke she busied herself with wrapping two of her fingers lazily. 

Draal looked at the young Trollhunter with an incredulous expression, crossing his arms. “You tasked me with keeping an eye on this human; where was I supposed to bring her, let alone after the sun rose? I’m sure both of us know the uproar that would result in a human just waltzing around the Heartstone.” 

Jim sighed and nodded. He sat down at the breakfast nook facing the kitchen. “Yeah, I know.”

He looked up to Kaba, who put away the first aid kit and hiked herself up to sit on the kitchen countertop, facing Jim. 

She swung her feet slightly. “So what’s the orders, boss? Cause, like I said, it’s not like I have an agenda. It’s okay. I get that Troll-oriented spaces aren’t generally human friendly, so I can’t play tourist. I get that. Cool. But I don’t want to up and leave Trollmarket after only just getting in when there’s still so much here. I can just get out of your hair and camp out in the woods nearby, it’s all good.” 

Jim shook his head. “No, don’t take it like that. It’s a fresh change to have someone showing up and it’s not someone with some hell-bent vendetta. But still, until we know you more, I stick by what I said. So Trollmarket isn’t off limits or anything, just, make sure to have Draal or me or someone with you. As for a place to stay…” 

He rubbed his face. “I don’t care if you’re used to it, I don’t feel right just making you camp out somewhere. I’m already hiding a troll in my basement and my mom hasn’t noticed, so what does one more person hurt, I guess. Besides, that way you can use the shower here when you need to.” He tucked his chin on his hand and looked to her again. “It’s not a permanent arrangement, but I think everyone will be able to have a little more trust and be willing to get to know each other more if you’re ‘under the Trollhunter’s watch’. Sound good?” 

Kaba smiled slightly and shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I’m just going with the flow at this point.” She stuck her tongue out at Draal and smirked as she passed him, lightly shoving his shoulder. “Looks like we’re roomies temporarily. I hope you don’t snore.” She let out a chuckle and made her way back into the basement, leaving Draal and Jim alone. 

The troll’s expression was far from pleased. “Reducing me to watching a human, Trollhunter? And how am I supposed to keep watch over this place and your Barbara with this distraction? Why not just set me at ridding Trollmarket of gnomes?” 

Jim rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad, Draal. I know you like to be all ‘lone-wolf’ but maybe having someone around won’t be so bad. Besides, you can sniff out if there’s anything wrong better than anyone else I can rely on. I don’t get the feeling she’s bad. At all. But I know I can trust you if that’s how things end up. So think of it as part of watching over here and watching over my mom when I’m not around.” 

Draal nodded reluctantly. Part of him was satisfied and proud of the Trollhunter’s respect of his intuition. “Alright, Trollhunter. Fine. I will do my part.” 

Jim grinned. “Besides… Kaba doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe you won’t hate getting to know her as much as you think. Plus, it’s only temporary. You heard her; she’s a Drifter. She’ll probably satisfy her curiosity and be gone before you even realize it.” 

Draal grumbled. “I can only hope as much.” 

Jim shook his head, but the smirk on his face showed his lightheartedness. “Okay, tough guy. Now I’m going and meeting the gang. If I see you there, I see you there.” He got up to head to his room and get his things, stopping halfway up the stairs before running back down them, skipping steps two by two. He scribbled a note down and handed the crumpled paper to Draal, who looked at it in utter confusion. 

“And what is this?” 

Jim headed up the stairs again, pausing to point the the paper. “Give that to our new guest. It’s my cell number; she’ll know what to do with it. Tell her to use it if she needs to get in touch with me or if anything happens. Better safe than sorry.” 

Draal looked at the paper again and huffed, heading back down the basement stairs. 

He looked down to see Kaba fiddling with the handful of metal again, which looked to be taking form finally. 

The sound of him descending the stairs caught her attention and she looked up briefly and smiled.

He held the paper out to her. “Here. From the Trollhunter for emergencies.” 

Kaba took the paper and read it, finally comprehending what it was after she saw it and nodded. “Ah, okay! Thanks!” 

She looked intently at it again before crumpling it up and tossing it into the heater a few feet away. The paper quickly lit and shriveled away into a burnt ball. 

Draal stared at her in utter confusion, raising an eyebrow and doing all her could to keep his jaw from lowering in turn. 

Kaba looked back up to him and waved her hand. “Oh! That’s not what it looks like, I promise! I memorized it. Kinda like photographic memory, you could say. I’ll remember it~” 

Draal nodded and shrugged. What business was it of his, either way. 

He made his way across the basement and made himself comfortable, sitting across the room from Kaba and facing her, his arms crossed and his back resting against the wall. 

They sat in silence, for what felt like hours, while she worked away again. Draal had started to nod off when he was startled awake, jolting to look up at the green and white haired human who had alarmed him. She was standing up and was holding the mechanical creation in her hands, over her head, cradling it carefully in her palms. 

“Voila! He’s done! Well, almost…” Kaba smiled over at Draal before looking to Darwin, who seemed to be even directing his cold aura at the girl as well, strangely. 

She pouted at him and harrumphed. “And before you even start, I don’t want to hear it.”

The feline snorted at her and sauntered further away, hopping up onto a pile of boxes and watching her through slanted eyes. 

Kaba bounced over to Draal, intent on showing off her creation to someone. She held her hands in front of his, palms up. Cradled in her hands was what looked like a small lizard, barely as long as the space of her hands held together. The attention to detail was impeccable, even he could see that much, for such a small and delicate combination of metal parts. It lay still and unmoving, the eyes empty and black. 

Draal looked it over, still unsure of what he was looking at. “... What is it…” 

Kaba stepped back, pulling the mechanical lizard against her chest and smiling down at it, stroking the cold etched metal of it’s head. “Not much yet. But he will be. I’ve already got the basics of his programming done; I can build off of the foundation I made later on… for now though, all that’s left is to put some life into this little guy…” 

Draal looked at her silently, more curious and confused than he had been yet. 

Kaba turned away from him in a flash and stepped lightly towards her pack, rummaging around in it before procuring the items she had been in search of. Draal couldn’t even pretend to know what half of the items she had pulled out and began to place around herself were. Troll artifacts? Those he knew. Human? There he was far less sure. Let alone an artifact that a human witch had use of. 

She kept the tiny lizard clutched to her chest in one hand, while drawing a sigil of some sort on the concrete floor of the basement. When she finished she stood back and admired her handiwork for a moment, smiling, before she stepped into the markings and sat down in the center. She smiled down at the lizard in her hands and stroked it’s face with her thumbs. 

Draal looked over to the young witch’s mechanical companion, who simply glanced to his owner and strolled over to Draal. The feline sat next to him and watched her in turn. 

“What is she doing?” Draal asked, finally unable to silence his curiosity. As much as he felt the feline had an apparent dislike of him, the human had an aura about her that left him feeling he wouldn’t get a response no matter how he tried to get her attention. 

Without turning to look at the troll, Darwin replied. “Just watch.” 

Kaba had began to mutter in the unidentifiable language under her breath. Within moments Draal felt the unmistakable presence of magic in the room. Not simple magic or the aura that some artifacts possessed. True magic that left a distinct pressure against him. His gaze quickly found Kaba’s face, which was focused, her eyebrows pinching together in concentration. For a flicker of a moment he could have sworn the look was of pain, but he found himself unsure as it had passed so quickly. 

The air in the room felt heavier by the moment, Kaba’s alien words ringing in Draal’s ears. 

Finally, the room fell silent. Not only couldn’t he hear the human anymore, but the very air seemed so fragile and quiet it was deafening. 

Draal couldn’t look away from the human’s face as suddenly her mouth opened ever so slightly, like she was gasping desperately for air. A light blue wisp escaped her lips and snaked it’s way down to the creature in her hands. 

It was then Draal understood. 

Her body shuddered violently as the tiny body in her hands absorbed the wisp, the light fading away completely inside of it. For a moment a spark flashed in it’s eyes, as well as in the intricate details along it’s body. It flickered in and out for a few moments before it’s tiny body lifted and he could see the very life seep into it’s eyes. It looked around briefly before looking up at Kaba and tilting it’s head, letting out a tiny chirp. 

Kaba smiled down at it, her eyes drooping and tired, every bit of her expression bleeding love and adoration. As she let out a tiny sigh, the sound in the room returned all at once. 

She raised her hands towards her face and nuzzled the tiny creature against her nose for a moment. It in turn rubbed against her, it’s eyes closing lovingly. “Ahhhh I knew it… there you are, my little friend… Welcome to the world.” Her eyes lazily looked up, finding and meeting Draal’s intense gaze. Her eyes seemed unfocused and distant, as if she struggled to focus them on him. She smiled wide, her cheeks overtaking her face and making her eyes squint nearly shut. 

Kaba carefully stood up, though her legs visibly shook like a newborn fawn as she stepped over to Draal. She held her hands out to him as the tiny lizard turned to face him, tiling it’s head curiously at him. “Isn’t he just perfect, Draal? Although… I’m pretty tired now… so if you could keep an eye on this little guy since he’s new to the world and all… so…. Yeah, thank you!” Her words had a listless sound to them and she had seemed to lose her train of thought part way through, though Draal understood her intent. 

The small lizard crawled into Draal, nestling itself on his forearm. As soon as it did, Kaba immediately turned and made her way to her pack, slumping messily onto it and not even taking the time to pull out her blanket or bedding before she was in a deep sleep. 

Draal stared at her for a moment before looking to the tiny lizard on his arm in amazement and turning his head to Darwin next to him. 

“She is using her very life force to give you life.” 

It was a statement more than a question. 

Darwin nodded, still watching his human companion as she now silently slumbered. 

“So…. you… is that how she?” Draal tried to piece the question together. 

Darwin shook his head, replying in his mechanical voice. “No. Not exactly, at least. I wasn’t created. I had life before I died. She paid the price to bring me back, as you saw. She put my soul into this body and gives it life, feeds it, you could say. I am a constant drain, no matter how slow or little, on her very soul. And she knows it.” 

Darwin finally turned to look up at the troll next to him, studying his face, obviously gauging his reaction. 

“She gives up some of her life to give life to me, and now to that little one there. As she has with ones before it.” 

Draal carefully looked the cat beside him up and down, before in turn staring at the smaller creature that had made itself comfortable on his arm. “But why?” 

The cat’s face managed to appear solemn. “Would you like to know why that girl gave the name she did?”

He continued on, before Draal could respond.

“Because she said the name ‘Darwin’ meant ‘Dear Friend’.”

The feline stared up met Draal’s eyes. “I know Troll Culture and Humans’ varies greatly, but I’m sure even you can understand the implications here. She was just a tiny human whelp… to give up so much, for companionship. I won’t take the decision from her. Though her love of others is, quite literally, far too self-sacrificing…”

Draal finally broke their eye contact and mulled over what he had just heard. His line of sight was drawn to the creature again and he asked, “Even so… so why this... What is this?” 

Darwin shook his head and stared over at the sleeping figure. “‘That… that would be something even I’m unsure of. She says that it is simply how her magic works. To create a ‘soulless robotic shell has no meaning’; that true technomancy is to breathe her very life into her magic… She has always been peculiar, and there is little explaining what she does or her reason behind it. It’s just…. Her. Although... you could say that it should be your proof that your suspicions of her are false…”

Draal stared down at the lizard-like creature on him as Darwin finally sauntered away. “So you know… anytime she ties her soul to one of her creations, or shares her life force, it takes a lot out of her. It will be hours before she wakes up, so you should be free of your watchdog duties for the day.” 

Draal nodded, never looking up from the creature on his arm. It had stopped chirping and exploring as it found the bend in the nook of his elbow, making itself comfortable by curling itself into a tight ball. The tiny hollow eyes, which had just earlier been dark and unsettling, now glowed with a brilliant yellow. He could see tiny wisps of light circling in them as the creature stared curiously up at him for a moment. Dare he say, like he was looking into the creature's soul. It’s very life. Which he now knew to be closer to the truth than he would have suspected earlier. 

The large troll shook the thoughts from his mind and looked over to the two sleeping figures, huddled together so close. Kaba’s face twisted up in discomfort and rolled over, an unpleasant dream keeping her from her rest. 

After watching her toss and turn for a moment more, Draal rose, gently holding his hand up so that the small lizard could crawl into the crown of his horns. He quietly grabbed a blanket from the Trollhunter’s shelving nearby and draped it over the restless human. Darwin opened a single eye to watch the troll as he did so before curling up against his human’s back again, returning to habits from his living days when he would have reveled in her warmth. 

Draal caught himself and stopped for a moment, pondering his sudden concern over the young woman. It was unlike him, and he knew as much. 

He contemplated returning to the far side of the room but decided against it, instead making himself comfortable between the basement’s heater and the human woman. 

The thought that he should be using this time to busy himself with his usual tasks while she slept was brief, and quickly faded as his mind began to wander, his chin drooping as the sounds of sleep began to rumble in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, folks! 
> 
> So here was Chapter Two! I hope everyone is still enjoying the story so far! 
> 
> This chapter is shorter than I intended, just because I had to break this chapter up into two separate ones because it got too long! So I'll be proofreading the second half and posting the next one in a few days! So far, things are looking like this story should be in the 5 to 6 chapter range, so that's what you have to look forward to! 
> 
> I want to especially extend thanks to the people who've commented and who've messaged me on Tumblr saying how much they are enjoying things thus far! It really motivates me and quite honestly even helped me cheer up after some long days this week. So, as always, comments/feedback and kudos are hella appreciated! 
> 
> Till next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys, there was a little delay on this chapter cause I've been busy~
> 
> I actually finished it a few days ago but couldn't get around to editing because my kidlet turned 4 yesterday! *fanfair*   
> So I was busy with party planning and preparations. It was a big day and lots of fun~ 
> 
> I'm hoping to get the next chapter up relatively quick, probably in about a week at longest.   
> We'll be getting our big backstory chapter soon, as well as we'll be meeting one more person! Friend? Foe? Feel free to take a guess~
> 
> So until next time, kiddies, I hope you enjoy!

The days and nights passed in a blur and before any of them realized it, over a week had passed since Kaba’s arrival in Arcadia Oaks. It quickly became routine that Kaba split her time with Draal, exploring the less active parts of Trollmarket, or with Blinky, swapping stories of history and troll cultures and tales of the places she had been. Even during these times, Draal managed to stay nearby, keeping an eye on the young human, though over the days it became less out of necessity and more out of habit to stay within earshot of her. Anytime she wasn’t with one of the two trolls, she was tinkering away at something or another. 

Finally, one evening, Jim and the group had gotten wind of rumors of changeling activity going on again in town. Draal elected to go along for the intel trip they had planned, so they could confirm or deny if there was any truth the information Not-Enrique had given them, if for no other reason than to be emergency backup and muscle. Initially he argued about allowing Kaba to tag along, but she was persistent, and even managed to sway the young Trollhunter’s caution in her favor. At the end of it all, she was another set of eyes and ears, and Darwin’s night vision, which even made a troll’s night vision pale in comparison, gave them a leg up.

The rag tag team found themselves in an abandoned mill, near the shipping yard on the bay. It seemed since the changelings initial plans of rebuilding Killahead Bridge had been thwarted, at least temporarily, they had turned to much more shady and illegal means to acquire anything they needed. Without Strickler at the head of their plans, they had ceased hiding in plain sight and instead were being more cautious. A human Trollhunter had been more of a kink in their plans than anticipated. 

Jim darted silently from behind a stack of crates and moved quickly, checking every corner and peeking at any shipping labels he came across. Not far behind him, Kaba kept her back to the tower of crates and had Darwin doing a visual check around them. 

Meanwhile Draal was taking the less stealthy job and guarding the entrance they had just come through and dutifully watching their backs.

The feline blinked up at his human companion, seeming to telepathically convey that things were clear so far. In response, the young woman nodded and stood up, turning to move around the opposite side of the crates and follow the younger Trollhunter’s lead. 

After what felt like hours of searching they found the shipment in question. 

Jim called Draal over and had him help pry the lid off of the container with ease. 

Once it was open though, all of them stopped and stared into the box in confusion. 

It was empty. 

Padded outline and indents lay in the foam padding deep inside. Whatever had been sent had already been procured. 

Jim slammed his fist on the side of the crate. “Damn… we were too late. Ugh, I swear! But… well, at least this means we weren’t wrong, so it’s not like we’re being fed false information… We’ll just have to try to find out what they’re up to now.” 

Draal had started to reply when he was cut short by Darwin, shushing him. 

The mechanical feline didn’t hesitate, ignoring the glare the troll was giving him and staring into the pitch black across the warehouse. 

“Kaba. We aren’t alone.… now would be a good time to RUN.” His tone was sharp, but he had managed to keep his mechanical voice low and hushed, the last of his sentence coming out as a hiss. 

The group all whipped around to look in the same direction, bracing themselves and staring into the dark as a low chuckle rose from it’s depths. 

The chuckle quickly rose in pitch and two bright green, slanted eyes grinned at them from the dark. A tall, fuschia skinned troll with long dark hair stepped forward and into the moonlight, fangs glinting as she grinned at them. Two curved twin sickles hung from her grip and scraped along the concrete floor as she moved forward. 

Draal growled deep in his throat and tensed up, preparing to lunge at her. Near him, Jim’s grip tightened on his sword and he uttered her name low under his breathe. “Nomura....I should have figured you’d be involved…” 

She giggled and brought a hand up to tap at her chin, replying in a raspy, sing-song voice. “Yes, you probably should have. But then again you don’t seem to be the brightest Trollhunter to be chosen.” Her eyes flitted over to Kaba and Darwin. “Oh. And it looks like you’ve got a new human in your little meatbag militia. How fitting. Should I start with the newbie and thin the herd?” 

Jim finally lunged forward as Draal let out a bellow, charging towards the tall troll. 

Kaba watched momentarily in amazement as the two fought with the troll that Jim had called Nomura, her back pressed to the stack of pallets behind her and her legs numb beneath her rear. They all moved so fast she could barely keep track of the movements. Luckily, between the two of them, they seemed to have her on her toes and barely able to keep up between them. 

Darwin hissed into her ear to evacuate and get out of sight. She batted him away, finally seeming to come to her senses again. 

She reached down and rummaged through her sack, grabbing a small, round, glass bottle with a cork in it. Inside was a dark green murky liquid. 

Kaba stood up and ran in the direction of the altercation, catching sight of Draal seeming to fly past at mach 9 like a living pinball. He kept Nomura braced against a wall for a moment like that as Jim jumped over her, preparing to slam his sword down on her. At the last moment though, she caught sight of him over her and managed to throw Draal off, dodging the attack. She started to laugh and was about to throw herself at the young Trollhunter while he recovered, when her head snapped up at the sound of Kaba shouting at her. 

“Hey! Ugly! Maybe three on one sounds a bit more fair, you jerk!” Kaba reached her arm back and braced herself, throwing as much of herself into her toss as she could, launching the green bottle square at the confused troll. The bottle shattered as it made impact perfectly on her chest. Within a moment of the green liquid coating her front, an audible sizzling sound was heard followed by a loud shriek. 

Kaba grinned; Jim and Draal both looked to Nomura in momentary amazement, impressed with the young woman’s action. 

Nomura desperately wiped at the green grime on her chest. After a few moments though, the sizzling sound died out and her head flicked up, glaring intently at Kaba, rage heaving in every breathe as she panted. “You stupid, little, WITCH.... You won’t live to regret that…” 

Kaba paled and suddenly muttered, her tone quickly rising to a shout. “Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT! Somebody could have said she was a fucking changeling and not a troll. Oh my fucking shit, all I did was piss her off. Wrong potion.” 

Kaba quickly turned on her heel and took off, trying to weave behind a crate. In that same moment, Nomura took off after her, now with a target in mind and rage fueling her. 

Panic seeped into Jim’s voice. “Ohhhhh no, Draal, we gotta move fast!” 

Before Jim had even finished his sentence, Draal had lept into action, charging across the room. “Thankfully, I can do fast, Trollhunter.” Draal launched himself into the air, curling up tight and rocketing off, tearing up and destroying crates, taking the fastest, direct path through them instead of weaving around them. 

Kaba dove around a corner just in time as Draal slammed into Nomura, grinding against her as he kept spinning, wound up tight as possible. With a shout she finally shoved him off of her. 

He recovered as quickly as possible, bracing himself and deflecting a strike as she tried to move past him. He frantically searched around the dark warehouse, trying to take account of where the young human woman was, finally catching sight of a flash of green and white hair as it flicked around a corner. He let out a breath and redirected his full attention on Nomura, grabbing both of her blades in one hand, yanking them forward. 

Her grip didn’t loosen though and she was tugged forward. Much to Draal’s regret, Nomura had noticed his quick surveillance of the room. She let out a high pitched laugh. “Oh that’s just too rich. You’re worried about her! Not only have you been beaten down by a human Trollhunter… Not only have you taken to being his lapdog… but you have affection for one of the little fleshbags! This is a new low for you, Draal...And might I just say, it is NOT a good look for you… I guess it makes me feel better that things never did work out with us, if this is your taste now.” 

She laughed in his face and yanked away, bracing on his shoulder to launch herself off of and over him. A split second of panic crossed Draal’s vision before hardening his resolve again. He grabbed Nomura’s leg as she started to leap past him and yanked her down, throwing her away and onto the concrete floor. He growled deep in his throat at her, as menacing as he could muster. 

Meanwhile, Kaba had kept herself hidden behind the large crate she had found refuge behind. She rummaged through her pack and yanked out a small metal device, grinning wide. “Perfect!” 

She popped her head out and into view again, watching as Nomura rose from the ground, Draal between them. Jim had since caught up and was beside Draal, bracing for her next assault. Kaba looked down at the small metal device in her hands and flipped open a panel, pressing an assortment of keys. Her excited grin quickly faded as she realized the contraption was not, in the least, working. She cursed under her breath and looked up in time to lock eyes with Nomura. 

Jim and Draal both caught the momentary glance between the two and jumped into action, trying to hold off Nomura and distract her. 

Darwin growled low in his throat. “Kaba, it is high time you get the hell out of here. You’re making more trouble. You can’t do anything else! Run already while we have a chance!” 

Kaba glared at him. “No! I can do this! I just need a moment!” She crouched down again, ripping the back of the device open and yanking wires from it, reattaching them at a fevered pace, her hands shaking. Quiet curses escaped her mouth as she worked, letting out a yelp as one of Nomura’s blades indented itself into the crate over her head. She looked up at the blade as it was ripped free from the wood, inches over her. Draal had her in his grasp, roaring in her face and trying to side swipe her. 

Kaba quickly returned her attention to the device, replugging the last of the wires and twisting a new one to an old one, splicing it together as best as she could in her fervor. She slammed the back shut and shouted. “Done!” Her eyes slid to Darwin. “I need you to either get out of here or shut down...” 

Darwin glared at her. “You know very well I refuse to leave you here alone…”  
Kaba grumbled and cursed. “Now is not the time for your chivalry and comradery, Darwin! I don’t have time to argue. Then… turn off your audio receptors. NOW!” 

Darwin nodded. “I’m going into visual only. Do it, Kaba.” 

Kaba stood up again, her heart pounding in her chest and thumping in her ears. She shouted as loud as she could, trying her best to keep her voice from cracking. “Jim! Draal! Cover your ears! Right now!” She pressed a button in the center of the metal device, in the center of a large black, concave ring, and quickly pulled her arm back, launching the device at the three of them. As soon as she did, Kaba’s hand flew to her ears, her elbows out and her eyes clenched tight as she clenched tight.

It hit the hard concrete floor with a metallic clink and scraped a few feet past them. Within seconds of it coming to a stop, a shrill sound suddenly filled the room. It was a screeching, buzzing noise that resonated in them and felt like the physical manifestation of nails on a chalkboard. Jim and Draal both let out a short yell and their hands flew to their heads trying to block out the agonizing screech, which only seemed to be getting louder. 

Nomura’s hand flew to her ears, gripping tight as she let out a deathly scream. She dropped down and curled into a ball on the ground, trying to scream and drown out the horrid noise that felt like it was tearing up her very mind. She panted and looked up to Kaba, shouting over the noise as best as she could. “You…. you will pay for this dearly, you little Witch!” Nomura slid her scythes into her belt and launched herself through the nearest glass window she could, fleeing the sound before it drove her to literal madness. 

Darwin suddenly launched forward and ran over to the device, picking it up in his mouth and running it back to Kaba as quickly as he could. She turned it over in her hand and ripped the back off, ripping out the wires she had just reconnected. The moment the wires lost connection, the sound stopped, leaving behind an equally deafening silence. 

She panted and tried to catch her breath, her knee and prosthetic leg giving out beneath her as she crumpled to the floor. She grinned up at Jim and Draal as they carefully lowered their hands from their ears before rushing over to her. 

Draal just looked down on her form with a mix of confusion and amazement while Jim sat next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Wow… just… what the hell WAS that?” 

Kaba used both of her hands to brace her knee and lower leg and drag the limb in front of her. “THAT... was an ultrasonic blast! It’s based off of the Mosquito Alarm. It uses sound frequency to… let’s say, ‘deter’ people away. Change it up to the right frequency and, well, as you saw, it can be hell. Especially on changelings. However, it also happens to do a hell of a number on circuitry. Hence why my leg is basically a useless lump of metal until I can get the biotics up and running again. Pun very much intended.” She laughed at her own joke half-heartedly.  
She looked over to Darwin and gave him a nod and a thumbs up. “Okay buddy… audio on. You’re in the clear now… thankfully you’re not nearly as delicate as this old thing.”

Darwin grumbled something at her that was most unintelligible, besides the word ‘reckless’.

Draal and Jim exchanged glances and Jim stood up again, offering a hand down to her. “Well, it saved our asses. Might be a good idea to have some of those around as a fail safe.” 

Kaba started to reach up to grab the outstretched hand when suddenly a large arm swept around her from the opposite side, bracing under her arm and pulling her up to a standing position. Jim withdrew his hand and glanced up at Draal in shock for a moment as he watched the large troll carefully steady the young woman, not seeming to notice Jim’s stare at all. 

Kaba looked up at him in surprise. After taking a moment to comprehend his notion, her eyes sparkled and she smiled, her round cheeks making her eyes squint up. “Gee… uhm… thanks, Draal.” She went to take a step but her gate was heavy and clearly unsteady, the prosthetic leg an obvious hindrance that she wasn’t used to feeling the weight of.. 

Draal let out a slight huff and swept her up in an arm so she was seated on his shoulder. He glanced away from her, avoiding eye contact as he muttered under his breath. “Watching you totter around like a newborn will drive me insane. You better get yourself fixed up fast. It would take us till sunrise to get just halfway to Trollmarket with you hobbling like that…”

Kaba glanced down at him for a moment and smiled wide. She lightly touched one of the protruding horns on his head, which was only inches away from her as his head tilted to look away. She very carefully held onto him, bracing herself, and nodded. 

“Yeah. I’ll have it fixed up in no time tonight…. Thank you, Draal…”

He turned his head slightly and watched her through his peripheral vision. 

Finally he let out a huff and strode forward, leading the way out of the warehouse, leaving a wake of destroyed freight behind them. “Well, what are we waiting for, Trollhunter? Let’s get on already.” 

Jim let the armor fade away from his body in wisps as a small “Huh” escaped his lips. The scene that just transpired before him was one he hadn’t expected. In the least. Oddly enough though, he was relieved for it. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but it was definitely... different. The young Trollhunter shook his head and followed behind, jogging to catch up to the troll, who now had a small mechanical cat eyeing him from behind as well. 

 

Once the trio reached Jim’s home, the group convened in the basement, discussing their findings, or lack thereof, while Kaba set to work on her leg. Initially Jim and Draal made a point of facing away and delving deep into their conversation when the young woman stripped from her pants and boots and made herself comfortable on the floor, sitting cross-legged in her underwear while she worked. While the other two had seemed slightly flustered, she didn’t care in the least and was unfazed as she opened a large panel up the side of her calf and went about inspecting the extent of the damage. 

After noticing her lack of awkwardness, they quickly calmed though and continued their discussion. 

They seemed to be at a proverbial dead end.

“I’ll talk to Claire tomorrow and we’ll see if we can get any more information out of Not-Enrigue. I don’t think it’s anything we need to worry about, but better safe than sorry.” Jim watched Draal while he finished wrapping up their plans. He’d noticed the trolls’ fleeting, concerned glances but didn’t mention it because he had a feeling the glances had been subconscious. 

Draal nodded and agreed, much more readily than he normally would have, distracted. 

Jim looked over at the young woman, who had a small mechanical lizard peeking into the panel while she worked. He had to admit the sight was slightly unnerving. He reasoned it out that it was the way she handled repairing the limb since it was mechanical; afterall, his mother was a doctor and all of his experience with injuries had been much different. He let out a sigh. He wasn’t sure how much longer he should keep Kaba locked away with Draal and out of sight. He wasn’t even sure how long she would be there. Jim shook the thought off and stood up to clamber up the basement stairs. 

“Alright. Well, I’ve got to go call Toby and Claire and fill them in on things, and hopefully snag some sleep before class in the morning.” 

Kaba waved a hand up at him in response, before her head snapped up. “Oh! Yeah, what’s the mom situation? Because after tonight I definitely need to snag a shower.” 

Jim thought for a moment before waving a hand at her. “My mom is supposed to be doing a double tonight; she’s covering a shift for one of the other doctors cause of a family emergency or something. So she shouldn’t be home until tomorrow afternoon. And even then she’ll probably be dead to the world. Just, Draal? Be on lookout anyway, just in case?”

Draal nodded. “Yes, yes. I already figured as much, Trollhunter. It’s nothing I don’t already do. I know how to do my job.” 

Jim huffed and replied under his breath. “Yeah, I know you do.”  
The response gained an agitated look from the troll, but it didn’t faze the young man. He was far too used to Draal’s irritability. He simply waved down at the troll and young woman taking refuge in his basement and clambered back up to his room, dragging tired feet the entire way. 

Draal made himself comfortable and went about discreetly watching the young woman toil away, her two mechanical companions observing her work. 

This continued well through the rest of the night; it was nearly dawn when the young woman let out a sigh of relief as a subtle strip of light flickered to life from within the prosthetic, be it magic or machinery or a combination of the two, Draal wasn’t sure. 

Kaba closed up the panel and made sure that she could easily move the limb again. She nodded contentedly as she rotated the foot, listening to a slight clicking noise as she flexed the foot and toes. 

She stood up and dusted her bare legs off, patting her rear and thighs in turn. She glanced up at Draal just in time to see him turn his face away. It brought a tiny smirk to her face. 

“So, I really don’t want to wait all day to get the smell of grease and magic and Gods know what else off of me… I know it should be light soon, so if you’re going to keep a lookout… catch my drift?” 

Draal snorted in response. “Fine. Make it quick.” 

Kaba smiled at him and grabbed her pants and a spare long sleeve shirt from her pack and started up the stairs. She stopped halfway and look down at Draal, who was still sitting comfortably, planning to come up after he heard her start running her water, to keep watch. 

“Hey, Draal?” 

He looked up to her at the mention of his name. “Hmm?” 

“I know this might be a weird request, but, could you come up? It’d be kinda nice to be able to talk while I finish up?” She watched the troll’s eyes squint, startled and slightly confused. She jumped and laughed, holding her hands up. “Oh! I meant, like… through the door, you know? It’s nothing important, I just… I don’t know, it’d be kinda nice to not be alone? Man, I know I have got to sound so weird. Just, um, you know what? Nevermind! I’ll be right back!” Her words sped up as she became audibly flustered. 

Draal stood up and chuckled low in his throat, practically a growl. “Fine. Don’t hurt yourself; I’ll be right outside to protect you from any Boogeymen.” 

Kaba jutted her chin out at him in false annoyance and suppressed a laugh in turn before making her way up the stairs. 

Draal made himself comfortable in the hallway near the bathroom. A billow of steam made it’s way through the cracked door, letting out the distinct smell of water and the human’s soap. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. He could hear the sound of the young Trollhunter’s sleeping breath if he focused, just over the sound of the young woman humming in the room beside him. He couldn’t hear anything that would cause alarm, so he ignored the rest and focused on the sound of the young woman muttering and humming to herself, bring a smile to the corner of his mouth. 

Suddenly he heard the human woman clear her throat. “So, Draal. That changeling tonight. Nomura. It sounded like you guys had a history? She seemed like things between you two were more personal than the usual ‘kill the Trollhunter’ run of the mill stuff.” 

Draal started to nod, but stopped himself, remembering that she couldn’t see him. “Yes. A long time ago. I held affection for the Impure, but it was short lived.” 

He heard Kaba scoff. “Well, I wonder why that relationship went to shit…” 

Draal turned his head instinctively towards the door, his brow scrunching up tight. “And why would that be?” 

He was surprised to see the young woman’s head pop out of the crack of the doorway. Her hair hung down, sopping wet and dripping from green roots to white tips. “Well, I mean, that right there. ‘Impure.’ It’s literally a slur, so I mean, if you’re going to let something like ‘Impure’ versus ‘Troll’ be defining terms in a relationship… you’ll never see eye to eye. You’re looking at her as less than you. I’d be pretty pissed too. I couldn’t be with someone who went around calling me ‘fleshbag’ instead of human, for example.” 

Draal mulled over what she had said. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but it resonated with him. He wouldn’t admit it to her, but there must at least be some truth to her words. 

The troll started to reply when they both froze, hearing the sound of the front door lock click. Both of their eyes went wide as they heard someone come through the doorway and drop their keys on the table, pausing a moment before calling up the stairs. “Jim? Are you awake, honey? Why are you showering so early? I was able to get someone else to cover that extra shift, so hopefully I can get some things done tomorrow.” 

Kaba dove into the bathroom and dug into her pants pocket, snatching her phone and typing out a message as fast as she could. She had to wake Jim up. But she didn’t want to call him and have his ringtone draw even more attention. 

Draal had stood up and was looking around the hallway, trying to think of the fastest escape route so he wouldn’t be seen. Suddenly he felt a yank on his arm from behind as Kaba wrapped her arms around his bicep, yanking him into the bathroom with a grunt. She closed the door behind him and clicked the lock, managing to maneuver enough to turn around. 

Draal growled down at her. “How is this supposed to be helpful? We have no other way out of here.” 

Kaba glared up at him and quickly made her way across the cramped space, shoving a finger up and over his mouth, shushing him. “Just shut up, okay? I’m calling in the cavalry.” 

She snatched the phone up again as she heard footsteps ascending the staircase. She heard Jim’s familiar Gun-Robot ringtone in the other room, ringing in unison with the ringer at her hear; finally an extremely groggy voice finally answered her. “Who is this and WHY are you calling me at…. Oh my god it’s after 5 in the morning, this better be an emergency.” 

Kaba hissed into the phone. “Wake the hell up. Mommy’s home and I’m stuck in your bathroom and so is Draal, so unless you feel like having the Trollhunter discussion with you Mom at 5AM we need an escape plan.” 

Jim instantly sprung awake, his voice much more clear. “Oh man. Not good… okay. Sit tight, I’ll try to distract her.” 

The phone line went silent and Kaba put it down carefully, looking up to Draal and letting out a small sigh. “Okay, Jim’s going to run intervention, we’ve just wait a few minutes…” 

Draal nodded in response. 

Kaba turned around and reached into the shower to shut the still running water off as quickly as possible, still dripping wet and gripping the towel at her chest to keep it from falling. Once the water was fully turned off she rotated slightly and sat on the ledge of the bathtub, facing Drall. She braced her upper body’s weight on her palms as she hunched over slightly, taking a deep breath of the stagnant steam that had yet to dissipate. 

Draal looked down and felt his breath catch in his throat. He could clearly see the lines on her thigh where her skin stopped and the synthetic prosthetic began. Her wet hair clung to her neck and shoulders, and condensation gathered in droplets along her skin, collecting to make gentle trails downward. He couldn’t help but notice and ponder on how distinctly soft her skin looked; how she had a subtle roundness that made her seem less fragile than other humans he saw. Unlike the Trollhunter and his friend, or any of the other humans he’s since interacted with. Something about her he found... alluring.

Alluring? He caught himself and shook off the thought. His mind playing tricks on him and not acting quite like himself. That was all it had to be, after all. 

He felt a lump start to form in his throat and he mentally damned the steam for leaving his body unnaturally warm. 

His sight slid over the sigil burned into the young woman’s forearm, the marking of the Pawa that she had exposed to him when they first met, when suddenly he noticed that her other arm bore a second mark. This one much different though. 

It was a much more crude design; an X with a sigil in each of the four open spaces around in. The scarring and welts on this one were much more raised and some sections of the scar had a vague impression of a second set, just barely offset from the first. 

Something about the mark bothered him. Something about it felt familiar and left his gut with a sinking feeling. It felt like something he shouldn’t have seen. 

His glance quickly flicked up again, their eyes finally locking onto each other. For the first time, neither broke contact or looked away.

His gold eyes stared down into smoky, pale blue eyes, only broken up by splatters of brown around the edges. 

Neither of them said a word or moved, seemingly frozen. The moment seemed to go on for hours, while realistically it couldn’t have been more than a second. 

After that moment, Draal caught himself and coughed quietly, finally breaking eye contact and looking away. 

Kaba also looked away, her face and chest seemingly more flushed.

Both of them quickly snapped to attention as a familiar voice was at the door, along with the light rap of knuckles against the wood. “Honey? I heard the water running are you in there?” 

Within a moment a second voice chimed in, in response and they could hear the patter of footsteps down the hallway. The voices were muffled, but the two could easily make out the conversation. 

“Good morning…uhm, Mom! Didn’t hear you come in; I thought you had a double today?” 

“Oh, Jim! Yeah, but like I said,I found coverage for it… I heard the water running. Is someone here?” 

Jim started to stumble over himself, trying to mentally think of an excuse. 

Hearing the boy’s panic, Kaba yanked on her jeans under the towel and turned around, facing her back towards Draal, dropping the towel and yanking the think black shirt down her arms and over her breasts. She threw the towel over her head and made a show of patting at the wet locks. She glanced over and Draal and mouthed for him to stay quiet, only getting a confused stare in reaction. 

Kaba rolled her eyes and quickly opened the door as little as possible and slid out into the hallway to face the mother and son. 

Jim’s jaw was slack and he looked both horrified and confused. Barbara mirrored his confusion and quickly looked to Jim for an explanation. 

Kaba smiled as sweetly as possible and let the towel drape around her neck, extending a hand towards the older woman. 

“Hi! You must be Barabara, Jim’s mom! I’m SO sorry for the delayed introduction and for meeting this way.My name is Kaba! I’m an international student here in town for awhile, I’m a friend of Jim’s! The showers in my student housing went out and Jim here said you wouldn’t mind if I borrow the shower sometimes, until they get it fixed.” 

Jim’s eyes cleared and he nodded in agreement. “That’s… that’s right! I’m so sorry for forgetting to tell you, Mom. I just figured you wouldn’t mind, since it’s not like it’s imposing very much and I couldn’t just leave her high and dry, you know?” 

Barbara nodded, understanding seeping in. After an initial moment she paused and her eyebrows pinched together in confusion again. “So, why are you showering at 5 in the morning?” 

Jim cut in. “Rock climbing! Yeahhhh. Kaba is REALLY into all that stuff. Hiking. Swimming. Rock Climbing. And the best time to go is first thing in the morning and catch a sunrise; she’s always going on about it, aren’t you Kaba?” He looked to her and nodded towards his mother. 

Kaba chimed in, easily taking up the torch from Jim. “Oh yeah! Totally! And I just can’t get into the mindset if I don’t snag a shower before I head out. Gotta… feel nice and clean before I go and get grimy! Makes it feel extra cleansing and good for the body. Then the shower afterwards feels even better!”

Barbara tilted her head and considered. “Huh. Well that’s good to know! It’s nice to see someone who enjoys some fresh air and exercise in Jim’s life. Maybe you’ll rub off on him and he’ll get outside more. Heck, maybe one morning we could both join you.” 

Kaba nodded and smiled. “Yeah, sure! Sounds like a plan then! Again I’m SUPER sorry and thank you so much. They said it should be… uh, fixed in a week or two, so thanks for everything! Well, um, I’m just going to finish up. I left some of my clothes and stuff in the bathroom, so I’m just gonna finish up and I’ll be out of your hair!” 

Barbara gave a smile and a small wave as Kaba slide backwards through the doorway again, being sure to leave it barely cracked again. 

She let out a sigh and listened as Jim and his mother wrapped up their conversation. Finally the sound of two pairs of footsteps receded towards their appropriate bedrooms. 

Kaba’s phone buzzed and she pulled it from her back pocket to read the text she’d received. It was from Jim. “All clear. Mom’s going to bed. I’m grabbing some sleep too. Don’t have to worry about sneaking around as much now as long as I’m home.” 

Kaba smile and looked up at Draal. “We’re in the clear, big guy! Just gotta give a few minutes to makes sure Barbara is fully asleep before you go out, probably.” She let out a relieved sigh again and went about grabbing her clothes, resting them on the sink while she braided her still wet hair over one shoulder. The white tips were stained with a slight, light green tint while wet, grabbing Draal’s attention. 

His gaze slid her forearms, watching as she tied her wrist braces on. She seemed to subconsciously turn so that the arm with the other mark was always hidden, even while she tied her bracers on. He couldn’t get another glance at it. 

Draal ripped his gaze away, and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the house for a moment. When he heard the quiet snore of the Barbara woman, he opened the bathroom door and quickly started to make his way back to his sanctuary below the house, only looking over his shoulder to speak to her just before descending the stairs. 

“The Barbara is asleep; I can hear her… finish up already. The sun will rise any minute…”

Kaba pouted and stuck out her tongue at the lumbering troll as he attempted to move as swiftly and quietly as he could down the stairway. She smiled after him after she did so though, and swiped up her clothes, following behind. 

She made herself comfortable and went about preparing her sleeping roll next to a certain sleeping feline, unaware of the golden eyes watching her intently. 

The human woman left Draal feeling conflicted. She roused thoughts in him that were foreign and he couldn’t wrap his mind around her or her ways.... And on top of it all she was shrouded in secrets. 

She was hiding something, Draal was sure of it… and he was going to find out what...


	4. Chapter 4

Draal’s hands slammed loudly onto the table in front of him, books scattering across the top, bouncing and shifting as he leaned forward and rested his weight onto them. His gaze flitted to avoid the troll across the table from him, focusing on nothing in particular off to the side. 

Blinky jolted, dropping the two books he was holding and immediately his face was wound tight with anxiety. He wrung his lower hands together and spread the top pair open in a welcoming gesture. 

“Draal. It’s so rare to see you outside of the Hero’s Forge now.”

Blinky winced as Draal shot a harsh glare at him in reaction to his choice of words. Blinky backpedaled, realizing the poor taste in greeting, considering Draal’s history in Trollmarket over the past year.

“Forgive me, I meant no harm. But, um… well, to what do I owe this meeting? It is… exceedingly rare for you to have a reason to seek out my study, or even me, for a matter of fact.” 

Blinky eyed Draal with new curiosity and suspicion as Draal avoided eye contact again and seemed to grow anxious at the question. 

After a moment of silence, Draal finally spoke up. “I need to know about a Troll mark. A very specific Troll mark.” 

All six of Blinky’s eyes blinked in turn. “Pardon?” 

Draal stood up straight and looked directly at the troll opposite of him. “I know… things between us have always been less than friendly, Blinkous. And I’m aware of how I… used to be. How I still am. But if there’s a Troll in Trollmarket who I know will have information on anything, it would be you.” 

Draal stood tall, keeping his chest out and reserving as much of his pride as he could muster. 

Blinky stared, utterly dumbfounded. He shook off his initial shock, but chose to still err on the side of caution. “Well, I must say, this is certainly... not what I expected, Draal. I do accept your apology, if that is what this is. Now… what was it you needed then?” 

Draal leaned forward again. “A Troll marking I need to know more about. It was….”

Draal looked around for a brief moment and snatched up a piece of charcoal from the mess across the table, grabbing a piece of parchment as well. He crudely drew what he remembered of the mark. 

He slammed down the charcoal and flipped the sheet around to show Blinky, pointing to the drawing. “This.” 

Blinky looked at the marking for a moment, growing quiet as he stared at it. His gaze very slowly crept up to meet Draal’s. 

“Draal, whatever is going on, you shouldn’t know about this mark. Anything you are getting into that involves this mark is not something you should be meddling with.” 

Blinky instantly started stumbling around the room, glancing over stacks of books until he found the particular one he was searching for. 

“Blinkous, what IS it…” Draal growled low and put a hand on the crude sketch, emphasizing his demand for an answer. 

Blinky glanced over his shoulder at Draal and started flipping through the large book in his hands. 

He found the page he was looking for and placed it on the table, shoving it over to Draal. On the open pages was the familiar mark, though some of the sigils around the mark were slightly different than he had depicted. 

Blinky pointed at it. “This mark. Is this mark what you are asking about?” 

Draal nodded slowly, becoming wary of the other Troll’s obvious discomfort. 

Blinky’s face grew solemn and he sat down on a stool by his desk, his hands sliding down his suspenders and gripping them. 

“That mark, Draal, is a symbol among certain… black market sales. Especially among the Gumm-Gumm, but even among other select tribes and sub-species. This mark is associated with one thing in particular: slave trading... in particular, human slaves.” 

Draal’s eyes searched Blinky for some clarity but all he got was a sigh in response, initially. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard rumors of it, Draal. But even you must have enough sense and awareness to know there is truth in the stories. There are many Trolls in the world that make a business of trading human slaves… some as convenient food sources for Trolls who see themselves as above getting their hands dirty, as the saying goes, but partake in using them as food. And some… for much more deplorable and unspeakable reasons.” 

Draal’s hand clenched into a fist, crumpling the parchment in his hand; a lump stuck in his throat as he listened to Blinky’s explanation. 

Blinky stared intently at Draal. “If you have seen someone utilizing this mark, Draal, it is someone you should not be associating with. In fact, I would recommend staying as far away from them as possible. The ones who use this mark are even looked down upon with distaste by most Gumm-Gumms’ standards… Now… why are you asking about this mark, Draal?” 

Draal looked down at the open pages of the book in front of him and shook his head. 

“It’s nothing you need to worry about, Blinkous...” 

Blinky set his jaw, still concerned about someone like Draal having intimate knowledge of a human slave traders’ mark. Even for Draal though, this was something that reached levels that he wouldn’t even consider meddling in. 

Blinky let it go with a slight nod of his head. There would be no finding out if Draal had already set his mind to keeping his reasoning to himself, Blinky was well aware. 

Draal had a distracted air about him as he thanked Blinky, which that alone had the other Troll sitting even more dumbfounded than before in his seat. Draal shuffled out of the study, glancing down at his fist, still clenched around the picture he had drawn. 

A low rumble escaped his chest and he distractedly tossed the crumpled ball into his mouth, swallowing it. 

 

By the time Draal made it back to the Trollhunter’s basement, most of the day had escaped him. 

He had wandered around his tunnel system, working on it mindlessly while he mulled over what he had learned. He had come down to the only two possible conclusions: either Kaba was working with blackmarket Trolls and supplying her own kind to them, or… well, something much more cryptic. But even if that were the case, then, why would she be alive, let alone here? 

Either situation was a distressing thought and brought up more questions than it answered. 

Draal entered his underground haven to see the human woman still sleeping near the heater. She tossed and turned, visibly restless. 

The small mechanical lizard skittered over her form and curled up in the neck of her shirt, letting out a small chirping noise as it appeared to doze off again with her. She settled with the slight weight and finally seemed to find some peace from whatever was distressing her in her sleep. 

Draal quietly made his way over to her, reaching down to brush a stray bit of hair from her face, gently, as to not wake the girl, eyeing her carefully. 

He jolted and pulled his hand back as a familiar mechanical voice spoke up. 

“Watching people sleep a new habit or an old one?” 

Draal glared at the mechanical cat. “Don’t think I won’t eat you, cat.” 

 

Darwin chuckled. “Normally I’d need to watch out then… but I think we both know you won’t do that.”

Draal snorted at the cat as it sauntered across the room and leapt up to make itself comfortable on an old dresser. He snarled in response. “And why would that be?” 

Darwin glanced across the room at the sleeping woman. “You may be extremely brash, but you wouldn’t upset HER like that, would you? You, at least, have my respect in that aspect.” 

Draal grumbled and sat down on the opposite side of the heater. He glanced over and watched the young woman, his expression soft and his eyebrows pinching together slightly. 

“Why does she have the mark…” 

Darwin’s eyes flicked up to him, his gaze boring into him. “So… you’ve seen.” 

It was a statement more than a question. 

Draal simply gave a curt nod in response. 

Darwin let out a small sigh and looked over to the young woman in turn. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that is a story I won’t tell on her behalf. If you want to know, you talk to her. Though I cannot promise if you will get a response.” 

“Hmmmm…” Draal muttered to himself. He had been hopeful, but hadn’t expected to find out anything useful from the feline. “Fine...”

The rest of the afternoon passed quietly, dragging on as Draal sat, stewing in his curiosity. Patience had never been his strong point, after all. 

Not long before night fell, the young woman finally awoke, going about the start of her ‘day’ as normally as she had since arriving. Draal stayed quiet, silently staying nearby as she did so. 

They found themselves sitting next to each other as Kaba finished hand rolling a cigarette. 

She held it up and motioned at her lizard-like companion. The little lizard joyfully skittered up her leg to rest on her knee as she bent down to meet it part-way. A tiny cough came from it as it looked like it was trying to clear its throat. After a second attempt, a small flame, no bigger than a lighter would produce, sparked from it’s mouth. 

It held still while Kaba took a deep drag from the paper, the end glowing red and orange as it finally lit. 

Kaba exhaled, smoke billowing in front of her as the lizard snapped it’s mouth shut. She patted the top of the lizard’s head and praised it, cooing at the contraption, as it chirped happily in response.

Draal watched the entire scene with mixed emotions, his thoughts still clouding his mind. He snorted away the bitter smell of the smoke that had started to waft around him while he was distracted by the earnest smile she gave her companion. 

Kaba chuckled and took a deep drag from the cigarette, blowing the smoke in the opposite direction this time. “Sorry. Still getting used to this whole having company thing.” 

Draal shrugged, genuinely not bothered. He didn’t care for the bitter smelling smoke, but it wasn’t as if partaking in it was something that didn’t happen in the Troll world as well. 

The young woman let the cigarette hang from her lips as she re-braided her hair, letting it fall over her shoulder. She retrieved the cigarette and eyed Draal, her gaze worried. “You okay, big guy? You seem… I don’t know… distracted… Do I need to get out of here? I know I’ve been sticking around awhile…” Her face fell as she spoke. 

Draal sat up straight and popped to attention. “What? Of course not. I mean… It’s nothing. Don’t worry yourself.” 

Kaba eyed him suspiciously, staring him down and crossing her arms. 

Draal perked an eyebrow at her obvious distrust of his, albeit very weak, deflection. 

He turned to face her, letting his elbows rest on his knees and directly meeting her gaze. He took a breath. 

“Alright. Fine. About last night…” 

The corner of Kaba’s mouth quirked. “Is that what this is about? Draal, it’s no big deal. It’s not like… it’s not like I’m ashamed of anything and I really don’t care if you saw me. It’s just a bit of skin. If it made you uncomfortable though, I’m sorry.” Her cheeks turned slightly rosy and flushed but she genuinely smiled up at him. 

Draal flushed in return, his cheeks darkening, and his eyes going wide as he both remembered said moment and realized what she had assumed. 

He stumbled over his words. “Oh! No! I mean… That is!” The large Troll rubbed a hand over his face, collecting himself and taking a breath. He had to keep himself on track. Why was it so easy for this tiny human to derail him, like so? 

“Actually, it’s about your mark...” His face became solemn, unsure how, or if he should clarify. 

Kaba’s face contorted in confusion for a moment before she realized he didn’t mean the mark of the Pawa tribe. Her face fell and in an instant became an emotionless mask, the rosy flush of her cheeks fading and becoming unnaturally pale. 

She took a heavy drag of her cigarette and sat in silence, looking out into the back yard, her gaze distant, not focusing on anything in particular. She finally dropped the butt of the cigarette on the concrete below and stomped on it with a heavy boot, twisting and grinding to ensure not a single ember survived. 

Her gaze finally returned to meet Draal’s. “Okay.” 

Draal looked to her in confusion. “Okay?” 

Kaba nodded up at him. “I’ll tell you. In fact… I’ll tell you everything. I don’t know why but… I feel like it’s okay. I… I want to tell you everything… But, can we go somewhere else first?” 

The large troll processed her decision and nodded, waving an arm out in front of them and offering for her to take the lead. 

“Just one second!” 

Kaba ran back into the house and Draal heard the distinct sound of her feet thumping down the stairs and then coming back up again a moment later. When she returned she had her pack slung across her chest. 

Draal eyed the pack suspiciously. 

Kaba seemed to realize what had crossed his mind. “Oh! Just grabbing something. Let’s go!” 

Finally, Kaba led them towards the dark, calm of the forest. 

It had felt like they had been clambering through the woods for hours when they finally ascended a steep hill, leading to a clearing just on a cliff’s edge, that overlooked Arcadia. 

Kaba took a deep breath and smiled, taking in the view. Twinkling lights shown in the city below and the pitch black expanse above, only broken up by the tiny, crisp specs of white across the sky. 

She looked back at Draal, a tiny smile caressing her face. In a heartbeat she ran towards a grassy patch of clearing, spinning on her heel, arms outstretched and her eyes closed as she faced the sky. There was a slight ‘thunk’ as she fell back and laid out in the grass, staring up into the stars. 

She tilted her head up enough to catch sight of Draal, who was still standing a few feet away, still visibly cautious. 

The young woman pat the grass next to her, thumping her hand against the cool earth. “Come on, Big Guy. Don’t make it weird.” 

Draal stopped for a moment, his face going blank before letting out a loud laugh. He made his way closer to the young woman and dropped down to sit next to her. “You’re not the first human to say that to me… I shouldn’t make this a habit.”

Kaba perked an eyebrow at the remark but didn’t question it. 

Darwin made his presence remembered as he crawled onto Kaba’s chest. She distractedly started scratching him, eliciting a low purr. 

Draal looked down next to him, at the young woman laying beside him, as they sat in silence for a few minutes. 

He was about to speak up to break the silence when he heard her voice, quiet but clear, without the hesitant crack they both knew was behind it. 

“I know you didn’t ask for a life story or anything like that… but bear with me, I promise.” 

She glanced at Draal from the side of her eye, finally looking away when he grunted and nodded. 

She took a deep breath and let it out before continuing. 

“My mom died when I was a kid. Well, not a kid, but still just a kid. Too young. I didn’t have anyone after that. My dad left my mom long before I was even born, so he didn’t want anything to do with me. I was just going to get shoved into some orphanage. And well, that didn’t sit with me... I refused to be someone’s problem. I was a strong-willed little shit, I know.” 

Kaba chuckled and pulled her hands up to rub at her face before flopping them onto the grass over her head. Draal sat next to her, still watching her as carefully as he dared. 

“So... I did what any little vagrant with nowhere to go and no one to go back to would do. I went on an adventure! Found any work and odd jobs that people were willing to give a kid and used that to get around and stay fed. I saw new countries and camped out most places. I got really good at camping out and stowing away and out of sight. Considering everything, it was kind of fun, I’ll admit.” 

Draal watched her face go solemn as she let out a breathy sigh. 

“A year or two after, I was staying near this little town in the back country. I think it was in Venezuela? I honestly don’t remember… but I was camping out and found this really cool cave. As a kid, it was like… a secret hideout just for me. So, I was scoping it out and kept daring myself to check it out for just a little bit longer, a test of courage thing, even though it was getting dark…”

Kaba’s arms slid down to her chest again. Without looking down, she untied the brace covering her arm and wrist and pulled it off. She tugged her sleeve above her elbow and gently ran her fingers back down over the glaring mark. 

“Little did I know, that cave was where a bunch of Gumm-Gumm thugs were hiding out. They were picking off people from the town. Eating some of them, but selling most of them… They marked me when they found me… burned that God-forsaken mark onto me and tossed me in with the others. We weren’t even treated like livestock… it was deplorable… They kept me instead of selling me off with any of the groups. The leader took a liking to me… Said I was ‘useful’... they kept me around and would always remind me that once they were bored I was just a meal… Said it was my motivation to not let them get bored...” 

Kaba’s voice cracked slightly and she swallowed loudly, clearing her throat with a cough. 

The corner of Kaba’s mouth quirked and she looked down at the cat curled up on her chest. At first Draal thought the feline was asleep, but quickly realized he was far from it. Electronic rings of blue swirled and spun, staring up at the young woman, listening intently. 

“And that was my introduction to the troll world… But. I guess not everything that happened was bad… that was when I met Darwin here. Granted, he was just a regular cat, then. He got caught in one of their traps, but I found him first when I had gotten away during the day once. So I let him out and I would sneak out and we’d share scraps and he’d always listen to me. I don’t know how I would have gotten through those nights without having Darwin here to look forward to.” 

Darwin’s eyes glanced over to Draal before closing partially, metallic lids covering most of his eyes and feigning disinterest, as he lost himself in the memories as well. 

“He actually helped me escape. He caused a hell of a riot and had them running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was just enough for me to get myself free and head for the hills. Well, so the speak.” 

She looked down at Darwin again tenderly, making a point to rub his ears and cheeks. “But well… I made it out fine and all. But... Darwin here didn’t… I don’t even know how he got away, but he was a mess… I felt horrible. He was on the brink of death and there was nothing I could do, and it was all my fault… So... I wrapped him up and brought him with me...”

“I had heard some rumors in town about an old witch. Everyone was so damn terrified of her and she lived away from everything down in the valley. So I did the only thing I could do. I went searching for her. By the time I found her, Darwin was come and go. She said there was nothing she could do, but I was desperate. So… I gave up my leg. I offered it up for her to bind Darwin’s spirit to something I could create. Cause, well, I don’t know how much you know about magic… but that’s how it goes… everything is equal. Magic isn’t ‘magic’, if that makes sense. You don’t get something for nothing… it was all I could think of. It was much more rudimentary at first, a real rush job, his vessel I mean; I’ve always had an affinity for tech, but I’ve improved a lot over time and in turn so has his body… Only catch was, well, all she could do was bind him to a vessel… His ‘lifeforce’, the very essence that powered his body was gone, so… I let him have some of mine, so he is more than just a mechanical doll… It’s what gives him a soul…” 

Kaba’s eyes drifted over to glance at Draal. She was taken back to see his blank face slowly flare into anger. “Why would you just give up your very life for this creature? You already have such a fleeting life as a human, why would you throw any of it away for something else to live past it’s time?” His voice slowly rose in agitation, a distressed tone lingering in his voice. 

Kaba jolted up, causing Darwin to tumble off of her, as she slapped her hand onto the ground next to her, yelling in response. “Because I love him!” 

Draal growled deep in his throat, irritated. “And that is enough to throw your life away?” 

“YES!” 

He was taken back at her quick response and angry tone. 

Silence fell around them and both of their expressions softened. 

Kaba looked away, drawing her knees to her chin and resting her head on them, her arms wrapped around her legs. “Darwin was the closest thing to family I had, Draal. The only person, er, thing, I had. He had become my home. And then he was dying. Not just dying... but dying BECAUSE of me...to help me.. So yeah… I’d do it all over again. I’d give up an arm, or a leg, or whatever I had to, if it meant saving someone I love… As for using my lifeforce to give life to him, and to my creations… they’re a part of me. Both literally and figuratively. They’re like my children. They’re my family. What’s the point of living a longer life if I’m doing it alone?” 

Kaba turned her face to look over at Draal, her eyes slowly working their way up to his face. 

His brow was drawn tight, his expression pensive as he contemplated over her reasoning. He didn’t like it. He couldn’t grasp the appeal behind it. But as much as he didn’t agree with it, he understood WHY. 

He let out a sigh and looked to her. “You humans are far too soft. Not just in your bodies, but in your minds.” 

Kaba chuckled and sighed. “Yeah, I can’t argue with you there, buddy. We are. It’s a downfall…. But… it’s part of what makes us human, I think. And who knows… maybe you’ll come around and get it one day.” 

Kaba grinned again and stretched her arms up over her head for a moment. “It kinda paid off though. The witch was so fascinated with my stubbornness, and thought I was interesting or something, because of it all, that she let me stay with her and be her apprentice. So I stayed with her and she mentored me while I learned my Craft; learned how to make it my own. It also meant I could work on building this.” Kaba pat her prosthetic leg and winked at Draal. 

“You should have seen my first one. Oh man, it was barely a step above a pirate’s peg leg! I spent the next few years improving it, and improving Darwin, and practicing magic until I was decent enough off that I could manage on my own… Once I was capable of it, I left to travel the world again. This time a lot more prepared and a lot older, which makes a world of difference, mind you…” 

Kaba leaned back and laid back in the grass again. “After that was when I ended up stumbling into the Pawas’ territory. I was scared shitless that they’d be like the Gumm-Gumms before, which they weren’t far off, at first. They do NOT take kindly to trespassers, let alone humans… but, well, long story short…” Kaba tapped on the arm that still had a bracer covering her arm and wrist. 

“You know the gist of that bit… since then I’ve just been wandering… sometimes among trolls and sometimes humans. Sometimes other things and places too. I just go where the wind takes me. I want to learn everything I can and collect all sorts of neat things. I want to see everything. I want to see the WORLD...” 

She let out a chuckle and smirked again. “And, of course, sometimes I get wind of rumors and can’t help but satisfy my curiosity once something has my interest. Hence TrollMarket with that endeavour… I heard so much about it, and was so enthralled with the idea of it. I just had to see it. But well, it’s not someplace you can exactly get into unless you already know how to get in. Teleportation spells are still unexplored territory, so it took me awhile to perfect that. Though, it’s still far from ‘perfect’, as you saw.” Kaba smiled sheepishly. 

“But anyway… that… that’s everything.” 

Kaba glanced at Draal and her face softened. “You know… it’s weird… no one knows that… not even Old Baba, the witch I learned from… I don’t want people to look at me the way I KNOW they will… I don’t want the pity. I haven’t WANTED to tell anyone. But, something felt right about telling you.” 

A heavy, foreign feeling twisted inside of Draal as their eyes met. He was unsure how to react, afraid to break the steady gaze. Instinctively he lifted a large hand and placed it over hers gently, hesitating for a moment before his palm made contact with her hand. They both looked down, shocked at the touch. Draal started to pull his hand away, unsure why he had made the gesture. 

Kaba lifted her hand and gently guided his hand down again, placing hers next to it, leaving their pinky fingers touching ever so slightly. Her voice broke the silence, barely above a whisper. “Thanks…” 

Draal looked away again, a mix of awkwardness and relief welling inside of him. Relief? He shook the question from his mind, choosing to ignore it. He cleared his throat. “No, thank you for telling me… I… I apologize for any brash suspicions I’ve had of you until now.”

Kaba smiled gently. “No prob, Bob.” 

Draal turned his face to look at her in confusion, opening to retort. 

Kaba started laughing loudly, already realizing his confusion. “It’s a human phrase, Draal. Before you say it, I KNOW you aren’t a ‘Bob’.” Kaba laughed heartily, covering her mouth as she did.

After a moment the young woman managed to catch her breath and the two were enveloped in the quiet darkness again. She took a deep breathe and released it, smiling at him. 

“Now that the serious Hallmark Moment is over, how about we get down to why we came out here, hmm?” 

Again, Draal’s face turned to confusion. “That wasn’t your reason for coming here?” 

Kaba chuckled. “Well, I mean, yes. That too. But it’s a clear night, and I found this spot a few days ago, and I’ve wanted to come back and do something ever since.” 

Draal eyed her suspiciously as she rummaged through her pack, pulling out a short cylindrical device, with a lense on the end. 

“I love to watch the stars. It’s always been one of my favorite things to do and it calms me down. Which, I kind of figured I’d need anyway after that talk, so two birds one stone!” 

Draal grunted. “I’ve never understood the appeal of looking at the stars. Trolls belong in the ground. We have no interest in the skies.” 

He eyed the small tool in her hands. “So what is this device?” 

Kaba held it out to him. “It’s a telescope. Granted, it’s just a little handheld portable one. Kind of like an old school spyglass, really, but a little more modern. You can look at the stars and planets with it.” 

Draal carefully plucked it from her outstretched hand. 

Kaba pointed at the end of the device. “That’s the eyepiece. You look through there and it makes it easier to see things far away.” 

Draal cautiously brought the small device towards his eye and closed his opposite eye, looking through it and up at the sky. He was amazed to see how much cleared and larger it made the shiny specs above them. 

Kaba scooted closer and guided it, pointing out and naming off stars and planets and explaining what they were. 

Draal lost track of how long they sat like that. Kaba, rattling on excitedly about constellations and planets and moons, and Draal silently listening and looking at each in turn. 

He vaguely comprehended hearing her rattle on about a particular moon as he lowered the telescope from his gaze slowly. He glanced over to her, arms and hands moving fluidly as she spoke, emphasizing her points. He couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from curling up into a smile as he watched her. She was so wrapped up in what she was talking about that she hadn’t noticed that he had stopped looking at the sky and was watching her. 

His head tilted slightly and his smile grew as he shifted. 

Finally the young woman noticed that he had looked away from the telescope and was watching her. Her face quickly flushed crimson and her hands shot into her lap. 

“S-Sorry… I can get a little… enthusiastic.” 

Draal chuckled. “Do not apologize.” 

His expression drooped slowly. “I know I am not the most… well-versed conversationalist. Or however you want to say it. It is pleasant even just to listen, though I am sure you would much prefer a more stimulating conversation partner like Blinkous.” 

Kaba pouted at him and cut him off, her hands flying up and one closing tight to point a finger at him. “Ah! Stop right there! For your information… As much as I adore talking with Blinky… well, frankly I’d much rather be here with you…” Her eyes flicked away, her cheeks blushing ever so slightly. 

She clambered away again and sat with arm’s reach, drawing her knees to her chin and gazing up into the sky again. 

Draal stared at her in disbelief for a moment before smiling again and leaning back onto his hands, looking up into the night sky as well. 

He jolted slightly as her voice quietly broke the silence between them. 

“Vega.” 

“What?” He looked over to her, confused at the random statement. 

The young woman pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and looked away, clearing her throat. She picked at a dry patch on her lips, tearing at a bit of skin. Her voice was barely audible. 

“My name. I said I don’t have one… but… that’s not true… just, no one knows it… I haven’t used it since I was a kid… My name is Vega…” 

Draal noticed the young woman’s ears, burning red as she avoiding looking at him. 

He rumbled deep in his throat and let out a slight chuckle. 

“Star, hmm? It is… fitting.” 

Kaba’s head whipped around to stare intently at him. “What’d you say?” 

Draal’s eyes met her and he smirked. “Vega. It is Latin for Star.” 

Kaba blinked at him in confusion. “How?” 

Draal’s smirk widened. “I may not be as well versed as Blinkous, but even I know my fair share of Latin. Even you should know that Human and Troll languages have common roots…” 

Kaba’s eyes cleared in comprehension and she smiled softly, looking up at the sky again. 

She subconsciously returned to pulling at the dry bit of skin from her lip, letting out a small pained noise, and biting her lip as she accidentally tugged too hard at it. She could taste the familiar metallic fluid as a small bloody rip made itself visible. She grumbled at herself, not noticing Draal’s concerned look at her outcry. 

He slid his hand under her head and cupped her chin, turning her face to look at him roughly. 

“What happened? Let me see…” 

Kaba gathered herself and looked up at him, his eyes searching her, worry and concern filling them. She smiled, letting her face rest in his hand, one of her own hands reaching up and resting on the side of his palm. “I just tore my lip, it’s not a big deal. I have a bad habit of picking at them…” 

Draal evaluated the small red gash on her lip, his brows pinching together as he grumbled. His thumb brushed across her face, wiping the blood from her mouth gently. Kaba could barely make it out as he muttered to her. “You humans bleed and break far too easily… you need to be more careful…” 

Kaba was surprised at the tenderness of the touch, and the intimate way he was mothering her over such a small incident. She smiled after a moment and squeezed the side of his hand with her own. “I’m okay, Draal... I promise…” 

Draal’s eyes cleared and he glanced at the tiny smudge of blood on his thumb. His gaze widened and he withdrew his hand quickly, but still with care, and gripped his fist at his side. 

They both settled side by side again, equally aware of the slight awkwardness in the air again. 

The painfully awkward feeling quickly faded, thankfully, and they both laid back in the grass. They were both also aware of the feel of skin slightly pressing against stone between them. 

Kaba gazed up at the sky, her eyes searching between stars and taking in the dark patches of sky. She reached her arms upward, her hands outstretched, as if she could pluck down bits of the sky if she tried hard enough.

“You know, Draal… I know this is kind of random, so I apologize… but since I told you everything earlier, maybe you can get it… When I lay out like this and watch the stars, my mind always goes back to the same thing… I wonder… Maybe if I keep going, keep travelling the world and seeing new things… maybe one day I’ll find it.” 

Draal looked at the young woman from the corner of his eye. “Find what?” 

Kaba turned to look at Draal, her hands falling to rest on her stomach. “A home.” 

Kaba turned to look up at the sky again, letting out a breath before smiling and closing her eyes, not waiting for or expecting a response, instead listening to the sounds of the night. 

The young woman’s response rang in Draal’s mind. Something about it resonated with him and he couldn’t shake it. A heavy pit formed in his stomach and his chest tightened. 

He understood the feeling. He understood it more than he would ever admit.


	5. Chapter 5

A loud BANG resonated throughout the Hero’s Forge, as a flurry of blue and silver charged towards each other and collided. Jim grinned as Draal slid back a few yards, gripping into the ground below him to catch his balance and brace himself after the young Trollhunter deflected his attack. 

He grinned in turn back up at the boy, keeping his sights on the young Trollhunter as the floor beneath them rotated and shifted. Just as he braced himself and was about to launch himself back again, he dodged and rolled to his side, another blur rushing past him and missing him by a hair. He looked up again to see what had dove past him as it continued forward and aimed for the boy again. 

Draal snorted in amusement as he watched the mechanical monstrosity slam an arm down on the boy. 

Jim barely blocked the attack with a hurried parry of his sword. A mechanical hand gripped the blade though and Jim let go of the sword and rolled away. 

The sword disappeared into wisps of blue smoke, and the hodge-podge of machinery turned to face him as he continued to scramble away. 

Inside of the large mech stood Kaba, grinning ear to ear. 

She blew a strand of hair from her face and looked up at Draal, flicking her eyes to Jim. 

Draal nodded and grinned in response.

Kaba gripped one of the duct tape wrapped handles in front of her and slammed it forward, barely suppressing a laugh as she launched forward, a mechanical groan quickly turning into a high pitched whir as she catapulted towards the young Trollhunter. 

Draal took off in the same direction, effectively flanking the boy. 

Jim glanced to each side in a moment of panic before ducking down and running towards the drop off in front of him. With a leap of faith he launched himself and grabbed onto the rising panel just past the ledge. 

He yanked himself up and stood, turning to watch as Draal turned sharply, still pursuing him. 

Kaba jolted on the rudimentary controls of the exoskeleton, muttering curses to herself as she heard a loud popping noise and a sudden hiss of air. She yanked back the grips in front of her, pulling them back hard. The mech started to totter off balance, but managed to catch itself and upright itself again, finally coming to a full stop. 

Black smoke started to come from beneath the controls, the hissing sound starting to die down. Kaba let out a cough and waved the smoke away, starting to pull her hand from the fingerless gloves that were hooked up to the exoskeleton via multiple wires. 

The various movement in the Forge slowed down as the floors slid into their appropriate positions and the chaotic noise of the room quieted and calmed. Draal and Jim both casually strode over to the young woman, Jim’s armor disappearing into thin wisps as he walked. 

Draal let out a low rumble of a laugh and crossed his arms. “Having a problem, hmm?” 

Kaba waved him away, muttering. “Just some technical difficulties. Some bad wiring and I think a compression hose came loose. It’s what I get for using scrap instead of raw material and machining it myself.” 

Jim crossed his arms and looked the machine up and down. “I’m still impressed as hell, especially considering you did this much with stuff just lying around! I know you said you were good with tech, but man… you weren’t exaggerating. Not pretty, but man does it pack a punch.” 

The young Trollhunter lifted an arm and rolled it back, cracking the joints in his shoulder to emphasize his point. 

Kaba shrugged down at him. “I mean… it’s basically just a crude power suit, since all it does is enhance what strength you have. I think I’ll incorporate some barrier spells as impromptu armor for it, because boy does it leave the wearer vulnerable and exposed… and since it’s meant for a human user that’s kind of important. Because, while yes I am the adorable, cuddly type of squishy, it’s also the kind of squishy where I don’t want to end up human guacamole inside of this thing.” 

As she rambled on, she unstrapped her legs and turned around, starting to descent onto the foothold she had attached to the mech’s leg for easier entry and exit of the suit. 

Her foot shot forward as she misjudged the distance down to the step, letting out a yelp as she tumbled backwards out of the suit. She clenched her eyes shut and waited to feel the sharp pain of the impending impact with the stone floor. 

Draal stepped forward in a heartbeat, reacting on instinct at her yelp. He reached his hands up and caught the young woman as gently as he could, easily cradling her in his hands and forearms. 

He let out a breathy noise. “Hup. Gotcha.” 

Kaba opened her eyes and stared up at Draal, absentmindedly brushing away the hair that had fallen over her face again. She smiled sheepishly up at him and her opposite hand brushed against him softly. “Oh! Thanks…” 

Jim watched the exchange between them as the distinct feeling of being a third wheel set in, the two suddenly in their own world for a split second.   
Draal’s glance flicked up as he remembered the young Trollhunter and he cleared his throat, letting the young woman down with ease, the embarrassment obvious on his face. 

Jim smirked knowingly, staying silent. 

Kaba bit her lip and shook her head. Darwin gave her a distinct stare as he sauntered over to her from the sidelines. She gave him a pointed glare in return and stuck out her tongue before smiling and picking him up, letting him make himself comfortable around her neck and shoulders. 

She turned back to Draal and Jim, her hands on her hips. “So, then! If you two want to keep at it, feel free! If one of you big strong men-folk could help me lug this hunk of metal out of the way though first, I’d like to work on fixing it up while you do.” 

Draal seemed visibly thankful for the task and mumbled a response as he gladly went about moving the bipedal suit. He hoisted it over his shoulder with little effort; it’s size, while comparable to his, didn't leave it especially heavy, thanks to it’s bare-bones nature. 

As he went about moving the mechanical exoskeleton, Jim stepped over towards Kaba. He smiled and glanced at her, taking in her slight smirk as she stroked Darwin’s ears. He followed her line of vision and was unsurprised to see she was watching Draal as the troll continued his task. 

“You two seem a lot closer.”

Jim smirked over at her. 

Kaba seemed taken off guard by the statement for a moment, before letting out the slight smile again, her head tilting to the side. “Yeah. I guess we are… He acts like a big tough-y, but really… I don’t know. I don’t know why. He’s comforting to be around, I guess?” 

Jim looked away from her, giving a slight nod. “I hope this doesn’t sound bad, but I’m pretty glad you showed up. He won’t admit it, but he’s been different since you’ve stayed around for a bit. He isn’t as… tense.” 

Kaba let out a chuckle. “Yeah, he definitely seems the type…”

They both jumped as the large troll appeared before them, looming over them both. 

Draal stood with his arms crossed and his brow arched. “And he can hear you…” 

Kaba and Jim exchanged glances before both breaking out in laughter, apologizing between breaths. 

 

Once the two had managed to compose themselves again, they easily slipped back into their respective activities. 

Draal and Jim were both hard at training, Draal barking out orders and Jim taking the advice in turn and sparring hard. 

Kaba had slid herself under the make-shift mech and went about tinkering with wires and compression cylinders, occasionally stopping to pull herself from beneath it and watch the boy and troll relentlessly lay into each other. She couldn’t help but wonder in amazement that neither was out of breath or showing signs of tiredness. 

She turned to glance at Darwin, dozing next to her, and laid down to slide back beneath the lumbering metal. 

It wasn’t long after that they all paused their work, a voice resonating through the Forge, as a tall, pale troll made his way towards the Trollhunter. 

“Trollhunter! I’ve been meaning to speak with you. There are some unsettling rumors about an unknown human in Trollmarket, and I-” 

Vendel’s voice trailed off as the foreign metal creation caught his attention. He let out an alarmed gasp as the young woman slid out from beneath it and came into view. 

“The human! Trollhunter, is this human one of your little friends, yet again?! You may be our Trollhunter, and I may have allowed your little friends thus far to come into Trollmarket, but this place is a sacred place for TROLLS!”

Jim quickly made his way towards the elder troll. “Okay, Vendel, calm down… I promise there’s an explanation if you just-” 

Kaba slid out from beneath the mech and looked over the troll that had made his way into the Forge and was now reprimanding the poor boy. In an instant the gears in her mind clicked into place and she recognized who it must be. She quickly stood up and wiped herself off, making her way over to the tall troll as swiftly as she could manage. 

Everyone else in the room stared in disbelief for a moment when she got down on one knee, bowing her head for a moment in front of him before raising herself again, head held high. She untied the bracer on her arm as she spoke in Troll. ‘Vendel, Son of Rundle, Son of Kilfred. It is an honor to meet you.’ 

Vendel was visibly taken back at the human woman before him, watching her with newfound interest as she fluidly swapped back to her human tongue and removed the bracer. 

“Please don’t give Jim too hard of a time, the fault is mine. I’m sorry for the late introduction; I wanted to meet you with the appropriate respect, since you are the Elder over Trollmarket. I’ve heard so much about you. I hope this will be sufficient proof that I’m not just a human intruder full of hot air or ill intention.” 

She exposed her forearm fully and extended it towards Vendel. 

He carefully eyed it, recognition cleared his eyes. 

“A human trollhunter and now a human with the mark of the Pawa? I must have seen it all.” 

His tone was gruff, but had lost it’s irritable edge.

He let out a huff.

“Well, I am less than pleased at the idea of another human freely roaming around the Heartstone and Trollmarket…” 

Jim, Draal, and Kaba all exchanged a quick, worried glance. None of them had expected much better of a response from the Elder after all. 

“But…” Vendel turned back to Kaba and rest a hand on her shoulder. “If the Pawa brought you into their tribe then you are no mere human. I welcome you….” His voice tapered off expectantly. 

Kaba smiled at Jim and beamed at Draal in turn, her excitable personality creeping back up to the surface. ‘Kaba. Just… call me Kaba.” 

“Kaba.” Vendel nodded, repeating the name. He gave her a serious look, regaining his regal air. “I do expect to converse with you in private at some point. Especially since I am sure we will have much to talk about. I haven’t had the pleasure of speaking with our Pawa brothers in far too long.” 

His reason for searching out the Trollhunter now gone, Vendel gave each of them a nod of farewell before calmly leaving the Forge as quickly as he had entered. 

Jim couldn’t stop the grin of disbelief he shot at Kaba as Draal laughed, slapping a large hand roughly on her back. “You won over Vendel even faster than Claire did! Just… I didn’t even know Vendel could willingly welcome someone!” 

Kaba smiled and re-tied the bracer on her arm, shrugging. “You go enough places and you learn who to be respectful to and some of the important parts of Troll culture. What can I say?” 

Draal couldn’t help but smirk and silently remember how quickly the young woman had recognized who he was, initially as well. He couldn’t help but be impressed. Slightly. 

 

Jim and Draal decided that Vendel’s interruption presented a good stopping point for their training that day. 

Jim waved farewell to the two, leaving them behind in the forge to meet up with Blinky, as had become his routine. 

Kaba squirmed back beneath her mech within minutes of Jim leaving, taking advantage of Draal’s strength to have him lift parts that were too heavy for her to easily move, working on intricate areas deep within the underside of the console. The metal frame was light enough for him that neither of them worried about him dropping it. 

Kaba found herself chuckling at one point at the thought of utilizing him as such an effective mechanic’s jack. 

Draal glanced down at her and perked his brow. “And just what is so amusing down there?” 

Kaba shook her head and returned her attention to the console above her. “Nothing. I promise. Just… some human gear-head humor.” 

Draal eyed her suspiciously and huffed, choosing to ignore her response. 

The young woman worked in silence after that. It didn’t take long for her to finish what she had been working on, squirming out from beneath the frame and slapping her hands against each other. 

She gave Draal a thumb’s up and had him lower the exoskeleton. “Well, that should just about do it! I’m way too wiped to do any protective barriers on it today. But at least that should fix some of the stability issues it’s having… I just can’t go trying to make any sharp turns in her.” 

Draal gave a slight nod, taking her word at face value since he certainly had no knowledge related to the mechanical creation of hers. 

The young woman took a breath and sat down, reclining back and letting her weight rest on her palms as she finally looked around at the Forge and took in it’s details. 

“I gotta say, I can see why they call this place the Hero’s Forge… It’s impressive. I’d love to see how the obstacles actually function.” 

Draal eyed her suspiciously, a darting stare focusing on her as he crossed his arms. 

Kaba noticed his reaction and laughed, raising her hands up in defense. “I’m not going to do anything! I promise! I was just musing about it!” 

Darwin appeared next to her and dryly chimed in. “Good. Because your curiosity would get the best of you. You know the saying… curiosity killed the cat.” The feline managed a smug glance up at Kaba and she couldn’t restrain the laugh that fell from her lips. 

She scooped her companion up and scratched under his chin and down his neck. “Oh, funny little thing, you think you are! Stop giving me a bad reputation!” 

The corner of Draal’s mouth curved up in amusement as he watched the two interact. Darwin had kept chiding her and Kaba laughed and pouted in response. 

After a few moments like that, her attention became drawn to the walls of the forge again. Her gaze lingered over the statues of the former Trollhunters, each placed on a pedestal honoring them. 

Her gaze stopped when one of the names inscribed below one of the former Trollhunters caught her eye. ‘Kanjigar’ 

Kaba’s stare flicked up to Draal, recognition falling into place. 

The troll seemed to notice her attention had stopped on the particular form and he couldn’t stop his own remorseful stare from sliding over it. 

Kaba stood up and softly placed a hand on Draal’s arm, the small smile mirroring the intent. 

Draal noticed her reaction but couldn’t muster a smile in response, looking away from her.

She spoke softly. “I’m sorry… and don’t think it’s pity, Draal. It’s not. I just… I’m sorry. I know it hurts… it's okay to miss him and still be proud of him, you know… ” 

Draal felt something stir in his chest and throat, barely manage to not turn his eyes back to the human. 

He felt the warmth of her hand leave his skin and he turned to watch as she made her way closer to the monument; the stone figure that had been his late father. 

He watched tensely as she reached a hand out and closed her eyes for a moment. When her lids lifted again she softly traced over the grooves of the stone, where Draal had so carefully put piece by piece back together again. The remnant of the cracks ever so slightly visible and could still be felt under gentle fingers. 

If anyone else had attempted to touch one of the memorials, let alone his father, Draal would have instantly stopped the audacious action. But there was something about the intimacy, the softness, the look in Kaba’s eyes, that stopped him. He could only stand and watch, his throat tight and his stomach heavy as lead. 

Though the motion only took moments, time felt like it stood still, drawing on forever until Kaba turned back to face Draal again. Her eyes were filled with remorse, but definitely not pity. Draal could feel the relief wash over him like a calm stillness. He couldn’t place what else it was about her look, but it didn’t unsettle him like he thought it would. 

Kaba stepped forward and slowly raised her hands up towards Draal, carefully placing her hands on him as if he were made from glass and not stone. 

The warmth of her human flesh startled him and he swallowed hard, standing still and allowing the human to do whatever her intention was. 

Kaba let the coolness of his stone chest seep into her hands, her mind simultaneously busy with hundreds of thoughts while also blank, unable to focus on one particular thought long enough to turn it into anything concrete. 

She carefully stepped closer, closing the slight gap between them and sliding her hands down his sides and around him as best as she could. Her cheek rest against the coolness of him as feelings of empathy washed over her. 

Draal froze initially at the strange sensation and contact. After a split second he registered her motion as a hug. A distinctly human form of affection. While troll-kind did hug, it was not nearly as liberal or intimate of an action as he’d grown to see from his time around the young human trollhunter and his friends. 

Draal glanced down at the human woman against him and raised his arms up, folding them around her as well, awkwardly at first, returning the gesture, while very unsure of himself. He subconsciously worried he could crush her. Her grip around him tightened and became more sure of itself though as the large arms encircled her. 

Draal couldn’t help but rub his thumb against the back of her head, the awe of how soft she was still at the forefront of his mind. 

His thoughts were drawn back to reality as Kaba pulled away, the corner of her mouth pulling up into a half smile. A sign of comfort meant solely for him. The intent wasn’t past him, and her very human actions washed away the anxieties from him in a way that left him feeling even more in awe than he had until now. 

The moment passed quicker than either of them realized. 

Kaba gently placed her hand over his forearm and returned her attention to the numerous figures surrounding the keep. 

Another figure, visibly distanced from the rest caught her attention and she pattered over to it silently, her curiousity growing as her brows knit together. 

Kaba stared intently at the stature for a moment, taking in the hulking figure. 

She turned her attention over to Draal questioningly. “Why is this one separate from the rest?”

Draal’s stare turned soft as he strode over, stopping next to her and placing a hand on the figure for a moment. 

“That is because he was not a Trollhunter. He fought valiantly as one though and deserves to be honored. He gave his life… protecting. He was known as Aaarrrgghh.” 

Kaba looked up at the face of the looming figure, taking in it’s expression. 

She stepped forward and ran her hands over the stone softly for a moment. 

The smoothness of the stone startled her and her hand pulled back momentarily. 

Kaba’s neck turned back so she could face Draal, he face serious. “He wasn’t broken?” 

Draal eyed her with confusion and shook his head in response. “No... He wasn’t... He is whole.” 

A light filled Kaba’s eyes as she turned to face Aaarrrgghh again. She extended both of her hands out and pressed her palms to the stone firmly, closing her eyes tight. 

Draal watched her, his confusion only growing at her strange actions. 

A deep breath escaped Kaba’s lips as her eyes flew open, a smile working its way onto her face. 

“I can hear him.” 

Draal roughly grabbed Kaba’s shoulder and spun her to face him, his stare intense. “What did you just say?” 

Kaba steadied herself and did her best to regain her composure. She took a breath before starting again. 

“I said I can HEAR him. Draal… it’s something I learned about when I was travelling… it’s not a guarantee, it’s kind of… case to case. But, Draal… trolls don’t die from being turned to stone…” 

Draal stared at her incredulously. “What insanity are you babbling… your taste in jokes is deplorable...” 

Kaba shook her head, her resolve strengthening. She raised her hands to grab hold of Draal’s, looking up at him with a new intensity to her eyes. 

“I’m not crazy, Draal! I’ve seen it! I’m telling you I can hear him! Well, kind of hear him. It's kind of more like feeling? Trolls… it’s always been thought that turning to stone means death, right? Sunlight means stone and stone means death.” 

Draal nodded slowly, his intent stare boring into her. “Yes, exactly.” 

Kaba raised a hand and pointed a finger at him. “But it’s not! Gods, how do I explain it… for humans, it’s kind of like being in a coma. Shit, that doesn’t mean anything to you though… um… it’s that they’re frozen in time. Not fully dead… Trolls don’t truly ‘die’ unless they are turned to rubble. If they're broken. Pieces can be put back together again, but that’s all it is at that point. As long as a troll is only turned to stone… Draal… they can be brought BACK.” 

Draal’s eyes widened. “They… what?” 

Kaba nodded. “I’ve seen it before, Draal. It’s not easy and it’s not common but… it can be done… because of my magic… because of how I can use it, I can ‘hear’ things. Not like, talking and conversing, but I can hear him inside. He’s alive, Draal.” 

Draal was still reeling at Kaba’s word, unsure what to believe. 

Kaba bit her lip and stared intently up at him. “... And I’m going to bring him back.”

Draal focused on Kaba again intensely. 

Kaba’s fire in her eyes dulled and she suddenly shrunk into herself. “I mean…. If I can… to be completely honest, I’ve never done it. I’ve seen it and I know how, but that is a far stride from doing it… it might take awhile…” 

Draal nodded slowly, things finally starting to come together for him. 

He finally muttered out a response. “Okay…” 

Kaba stared up at Draal’s face as he responded. “For now then… It may be better to keep these plans between us… on the chance you aren’t right and cannot… let us spare the others the pain of losing him twice over.” 

Draal glanced up at Aaarrrgghh as the possibility ran circles in his mind. 

Kaba took a slight breath and nodded, putting her forehead against Draal’s chest as if her energy had left her all at once. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re totally right… I-I hope I can help bring him back, Draal.” 

Draal carefully raised a hand to the back of her head and absentmindedly stroked her hair. His voice was low as his response lingered under his breath.

“I hope so too, Kaba.” 

 

 

Draal and Kaba took their time heading back after finishing up in the Hero’s Forge. Neither were in a particular hurry and Kaba had been pestering Draal about accompanying her so she could make some purchases at some of the vendors in the marketplace. He had been putting off the task for the past few days, but found himself feeling more lenient and caved in to her request.

He hung back and kept an eye on her from a distance, giving passersby looks of warning when they would stop and stare and whisper. More often than not, towards the human woman who was bouncing enthusiastically from one crowd to the next. Now that they were more openly going about Trollmarket and not sticking to less used sideroads, he quickly took notice that this was the unsurprising norm. People didn’t stare at someone who had lost their pride when there was new soft-meat walking around brazenly. He was beginning to feel more like he was there to protect HER from the residents, instead of keeping a watchful eye over her. 

Kaba waved her arm and shouted his name, drawing even more attention to herself in the process of attempting to gain his attention. She was holding up a string of what looked like shrunken and dried goblin heads in the air and pointing to them, babbling excitedly. 

Draal couldn’t help the chuckle under his breath as he picked up his pace, catching up to the young woman and ignoring the increase of hushed whispers when he acknowledged her in return. 

“Don’t be so loud. You are drawing attention to yourself.” 

Darwin stood up on her shoulder and stretched, leaping the short distance over to Draal and making himself comfortable on his shoulder instead. His mechanical voice chimed in turn. “You do have a habit of being quite a spectacle, Kaba.” 

Kaba huffed, her face more light hearted than her tone. “Oh fine. You two would get along so well, I swear… you’re both so stuffy.” Kaba dropped a few metal coins and crystals into the vendor’s extended hand and haphazardly shoved the string of heads into her pack. “Can’t blame a girl for getting a little excited. Neither of you can appreciate just how hard it is to find preserved goblin skulls.” She stuck her tongue out at the two of them and swirled around, marching away from them and towards the next shop. 

Draal rolled his eyes and stepped after her, opening his mouth to retort, when they heard screaming and a loud crash come from the opposite end of Trollmarket. 

Kaba turned around and locked eyes with Draal. Both were overly aware that the commotion was coming from near Blinky’s study. As soon as they exchanged glances, the two took off in unison, running in the opposite direction of the fleeing crowd and towards the source of the noise. 

They could hear the source of the chaos before they could see it. 

The sound of metal clashing rung loud in the air, as well as shouting, mostly from Blinky. At least the sound of metal was comforting, in that it meant Jim was already not only aware of, but encountering whatever was causing the commotion. 

Draal grabbed Darwin from his shoulder and tossed him to Kaba, who trailed behind him, and took off, turning the corner and coming face to face with a troll he had never seen before. 

“What’s going on?!” Draal’s shout rumbled to his allies. 

Kaba was breathing heavily as she neared the corner, about to take the turn as well. She could hear Jim and Blinky replying to Draal as quickly as they could. 

“I don’t know! This nut job just came in here looking for the Trollhunter and just started wailing on me!” 

Blinky shouted in turn. “His name is Malak! He’s one of Bular’s knights! Nomura must have held true on her promise and sent him our way!” 

Kaba skidded to a full stop at the mention of the name. It couldn’t be… 

Her breathe caught in her throat as a rasping voice rose to respond. 

“How very, very clever of you… I’m glad my reputation still stands… I was so intrigued when Nomura asked for my help. I’d heard of the human Trollhunter, but I expected something bigger than this whelp.” 

The gravely voice made Kaba’s stomach sink. She felt like stone, unable to move. It couldn’t be… but… there was no mistaking it. Darwin’s voice was low as he began to plead with her, but she couldn’t make out the words. The world around her was cold. Still. Silent. 

She forced herself to move; one foot in front of the other, and she stepped around the corner, facing the intruding troll. 

Her blood ran cold and bile angrily rose in her throat. 

The intruder was a tall, lean troll with broad, wide shoulders that were covered in a long, dirty red pelt. His skin was dark grey, nearly black, with crystals and geodes protruding in patches. Four long arms swung low, each cling to a short jagged blade. On his head sat two large, ridged horns, which reminded her of the mountain ibex she had seen in her travels. 

The creatures ear flicked, hearing her step into view. It sniffed the air and the jagged underbite turned up into a sneer. It’s head tilted to the side and lazily swung over to meet her dead stare. 

Large, almost alien eyes focused on her and he let out a mocking wheeze. “Well, well, well… if that isn’t a face I could ever forget. Miss me… Pet?” 

Blinky, Jim, and Draal all looked from the troll to Kaba. Confusion and worry bled into their vision. A sneaking realization crept at the back of Draal’s mind. He hoped his assumption was wrong, but the very idea made his blood run hot and he found his worry was the only thing suppressing his rage. 

Kaba’s head suddenly became light. She couldn’t feel her hands. She registered in the back of her mind that she must be dissociating from shock or panic, but she couldn’t will her body to move, let alone her voice to speak. 

The troll before them laughed again under his breath. “To think I came here hoping to leave with the human Trollhunter’s skull and pelt, and I’ll be leaving with something else of mine too.” 

The stillness in the air was broken as Jim launched himself at the troll. “Don’t get a-HEAD of yourself!” He swung his sword down with all his might, attempting to cleave the troll’s head from his very shoulders. 

The swing was stopped as the lumbering troll crossed his blades, holding off the Trollhunter’s blow. He snarled at the boy, who landed a few feet away. “Didn’t anyone teach you not to be a rude little brat!” 

Jim shouted at Draal, who finally lunged forward as well with a thunderous bellow, targeting the intruding troll.

Darwin tried to get Kaba’s attention, who was still standing as still as stone. Finally he grabbed onto her ear and bit down on the lobe hard enough to draw blood, trying to break her from her panic. 

Thankfully, the painful bite hurt and Kaba jolted, yelping at the pain. She looked to Darwin and caressed her ear. 

“It would be in everyone’s best interest if you didn’t get involved here. It is time we LEFT this place, Kaba!”

Kaba’s pulse pounded in her ears. She looked up at the chaos unfolding as Draal and Jim swapped from attacking to defending. She swallowed the lump in her throat and whipped around as fast as she could manage and took off as quickly as her feet could carry her. As she turned and took off she grabbed Darwin from her shoulders and clung to him, pressing him to her chest tightly as she ran. 

Her breathing quickly became ragged and her leg burned. Her prosthetic unusually heavy. Adrenalin pushed through her, forcing her on.

She stopped after she had gotten a street or two away, her head dizzying at the sudden lack of movement. She looked back in the direction she had just fled from and turned to look down the empty path beside her. 

Darwin hissed up at her. “Why are you waiting? Let’s go! Don’t do it!” 

Kaba tilted her head down and met the illuminated eyes as her face filled with a sudden resolve, forcing down her panic. “I have to, Darwin…” 

Before Darwin could argue with her further she put him down behind a nearby stall. “Go hide, Darwin. I don’t want you to get hurt… not again.” 

Before the feline could respond, the young woman took off again. 

 

Back in the midst of the chaotic fight, Jim and Draal were unsuccessfully trying to lure Malak further from Trollmarket to reduce as much damage as possible. 

It took both of them just to stay on equal footing with the slender troll, who made up for his lack of bulk with quickness and wit. It was obvious how he had earned his place among Gunmar’s knights. 

The tall troll slipped his lower arms to his waist, sliding the knives into his belt and leaving his palms empty. He sidestepped quickly to avoid Draal’s lunge and grabbed the young Trollhunter in his lower hands, gripping his shoulders tight before tossing him away and into a pile of debris that had once been a vendor’s stall. 

Malak sneered at the boy, who shakily pulled himself from the rubble. 

“It’s exactly as I expected. You’re just as feeble as every other human I’ve had the pleasure of dismantling.” 

The troll reached down to grab the boy again, just as Draal braced himself to launch himself towards them. As he did though, he paused. 

In a heartbeat, the tall troll was gone, and in his place stood a very familiar mechanical figure. 

Kaba stood in the mechanical exoskeleton, panting heavily. Her body shook as she stared down the offending troll, who was pulling himself from a pile of rubble. 

She bellowed at Malak, her voice straining. “Hey! Leave them the hell alone, you bastard!” 

Malak rose and stood tall, rubbing at his jaw and staring at Kaba within the mech, his eyes burning with rage. “It looks like you’ve forgotten how to behave, you little wretch. I guess I will need to remind you.” 

Malak lunged at the woman, only for Draal and Jim to both intervene, slipping between them and bracing against the attack. The taller troll snarled, shouldering through them and ignoring them completely, his eyes set on one target alone now. 

Draal’s grip on his foothold slid and he suddenly found himself on the ground. He turned and grabbed Malak as he fell, but the other troll managed to yank himself from his grasp. 

Kaba jolted an arm of the mech to the side, slamming the tall troll aside again just in time. 

His reflexes far surpassed the makeshift suit though; within moments he had braced himself again, raising his upper arms over them both to grab the mech’s arms. 

The metal of the arms loudly crunched and compressed in his fists as his lower arms laced between them. One hand slowly reached towards Kaba’s neck, a long, taloned finger tracing down her skin. The troll’s lips curled back into a grin. “You’ve grown so much, since you got away. I think I may even like you with meat on your bones. Even if I don’t enjoy you anymore, you might even be more than a simple snack.” The words dripped menacingly from his lips and Kaba glared at him, barely restraining a shiver down her spine. 

Suddenly the troll’s lower hands roughly grabbed her, ripping her from within the suit. 

The metal frame was thrown to the side, crumpling into a pile at the force, as Malak gripped Kaba tightly, her feet dangling limply. She struggled in his hands, but to no avail, he breathing becoming heavy again. 

Draal’s face fell as he watched the young woman get ripped like a ragdoll from her machine. His head whipped to the side as the young Trollhunter shouted to get his attention. The young man and the troll exchanged a nod and Draal picked up the boy in one hand, launching him at the back of the other troll. 

Thankfully, this time Jim made impact with the troll’s back, causing Malak to drop the young woman and stumble. 

Kaba crumpled as she hit the ground. She watched as the sight before her seemed to play out in slow motion, the world silent. 

Jim rode the troll’s back, trying desperately to get in a better position so he could use his sword and not simply keep the troll in a rather ineffective chokehold. After a few moments of the struggle, Jim was thrown from the troll’s back. 

Everyone braced for the moment he would lunge for one of the humans again. 

Instead, the tall troll stood up straight, eyeing the group with a snarl. 

He bent down and grabbed the two of his blades that had fallen and slid them easily into his belt to join the others, before turning to face the humans. 

“Don’t think you’ve won this, child. I’ve just found out something interesting… and now I know the extent of your ‘capabilities’. I WILL be back… and soon.” 

Malak turned and looked Kaba directly in the eye menacingly as the corners of his mouth turned upwards. “And don’t think you can just run away again, Pet. Now I have your scent again… and I won’t let my favorite prey get away from me twice.” 

His promise made, the tall troll turned to leave, stopping for a moment to gnash his teeth at Blinky, who had partially hidden himself in his entryway. When the stubby troll jolted in response, Malak laughed under his breath and sunk his claws into the stone wall, scaling it easily and leaving the group in silence. 

Jim let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding and his armor disappeared in a burst of blue mist. At the same time Draal quickly dove towards Kaba, bracing her back with his hand to keep her upright. Worry filled his eyes and he looked the woman up and down. In a calmer moment he would have questioned his concern for the human, but his mind was clouded with concern as he watched the distanced look in her eyes. 

Blinky stepped out from his entryway, looking between Jim and Kaba. 

“A most distressing meeting, I must say. We should quickly prepare for Malak’s inevitable return, Master Jim. Sadly, I had wrongly hoped that the rumors were true and that he had long since passed; Malak had disappeared after Gunmar’s exile. Apparently he must have just gone into hiding… He is easily one of Gunmar’s least pleasant Gumm-Gumm’s, as you have encountered.”

Blinky wrung his hands and turned towards Kaba. “It is even more regrettable that you have had the displeasure of encountering Malak, as well… something I would not wish on any troll, let alone a human.”

Draal felt her breath rattle from her chest, her body trembling ever so slightly as she spoke up, her voice barely a whisper. “He won’t stop until we’re all dead… he will be back…” 

Her gaze started to focus and her jaw set firm as she looked up at Blinky, her voice evening out finally. “We have to finish it… we have to be ready and we have to take him down.” 

Kaba’s hand shook and subconsciously gripped Draal’s. 

Her attention was drawn to Darwin, who had slunk from the hiding spot he had found nearby so he could keep watch. The feline sat himself near Kaba and spoke up, the mechanical whir to his voice more noticeable than usual. 

“As much as I wish you would simply run… leave and leave this danger behind… I think you’re right.” 

Illuminated eyes turned up to meet hers. “Malak knows you’re here and alive. At best, he would give up on the Trollhunter and pursue you now… at worst, target all who live here before turning his attention back to us… There is no choice but to end it. For everyone involved.” 

Blinky nodded, solemnly responding. “Yes, I do believe our mechanical counterpart to be correct…” 

Kaba forced herself to sit up straight, no longer relying on Draal’s assistance. She took a deep breath and glanced over at the ruined mech. 

“Well, then we need a plan. Because the mech is ruined and Malak isn’t going to just roll over… Blinky, I think we can come up with some stuff if we put our heads together… that sound okay?” 

Blinky nodded quickly. “Of course! As soon as you are able, we can discuss possibilities and tactics. Come, Master Jim! We have much to discuss as well.” 

Jim looked to Kaba worriedly and silently looked to Draal, who nodded back in understanding, before turning to follow Blinky into his study again. 

Draal put his hand out for Kaba to brace herself as she shakily stood up. “Are you okay?” 

Kaba nodded, avoiding eye contact. Her face was unreadable and blank. Draal found it unsettling, compared to her usual character. 

“Yeah. I’m okay, Draal.” 

She stepped away, moving away from him, holding herself straight and tall as she could muster. Despite her feigning being alright, Draal could see the slight tremble that lingered with each step. 

He was startled as she stopped walking and stood in place, taking a breath before turning to face him again. “I actually need you to pick up some of my things that I left back at the house… I’m going to need my tools. More than what I have on me, for certain.”

Draal nodded. “Of course. But why-” 

“Because it’ll be faster if I have you get them for me. I need to work here, where I can get access to anything I don’t have, quickly and easily.” 

Draal frowned but nodded his head slightly again. “Alright, Kaba…” 

Kaba’s expression softened again finally and she closed the distance between them. 

She reach down and tenderly grabbed Draal’s hand between both of her own, his easily dwarfing hers in size. She squeezed it in her palms and looked up to him, suddenly looking much less like the bubbly young woman he had gotten to know over the past weeks, and looking much older. Much more weathered. 

“Thank you, Draal.” 

Draal closed his fist, taking both of her hands in his one, as he nodded in response, his resolve hardening. 

He again had many questions. Questions he was pretty sure he knew the answer to, and questions that he silently knew not to ask. He would leave them. 

For now he would do what he could and do as she asked, no matter what that was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for going so long before updating and kind of dropping off the face of the planet, guys. Things around here just got kind of overwhelming and intense thanks to a lot of things going on. So finding the time, energy, and motivation to actually write just wasn't happening for awhile there. 
> 
> I'm finally getting back into my groove though~  
> I have the next chapter half finished and I'm hoping to have it finished, edited, and posted relatively quickly! 
> 
> As always, everyone's comments and messages on tumblr have really helped motivate me to keep this story going, and I'm elated to see so many people liking Kaba and her evolving relationship with Draal. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed the update!


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Draal returned from gathering Kaba the items she had requested, any planning and conversing between herself, Blinky, and the Trollhunter had long since finished. 

The young man had already left to meet up with Claire and Toby and attend to his human responsibilities. Of course, Blinky had ensured that he left with literature in hand detailing any history involving Malak, so he could read up on him and be prepared as well. 

Blinky was attempting to split his attention between his books and whatever project Kaba had engrossed herself in. Draal walked in to see the troll balancing multiple open books in each of his hands and trying to glance over the woman’s shoulder at her handiwork, stopping to question something she was doing. Kaba gave a quick nod in response, but not much else. 

Blinky immediately scuttled off to his desk again and dropped the assorted books, scanning them carefully, only stopping to give Draal a nod of greeting as he passed. 

Draal made his way over to Kaba. She had made herself comfortable on the floor, in the corner of Blinky’s study and was sitting cross-legged with a familiar piece of technology in her lap. The Mosquito, as she had referred to it. Assorted bits, wires, and metal pieces surrounded her, easily taking up a couple feet of space; the clutter threatening to take over the floor of the study.

She had pulled her goggles up to protect her eyes as she worked on the creation in front of her. 

Apparently Darwin must have intervened and reminded her, because she was wearing the work gloves Draal recalled him fussing at her over, on multiple instances. 

Treading carefully, as to avoid stepping on anything, Draal made his way past the worst of the chaos on the floor. 

It wasn’t until he was immediately next to the human that he noticed her hollow expression. While it wasn’t unusual for her to be rather hyper-focused on one of her projects, there was something much more empty about her expression now. Something... much more serious, as she intentionally focused on the parts in her hands as if her world depended on them.

She sat as if the rest of the world was completely nonexistent. She easily hadn’t noticed Draal’s entrance, let alone that he was now close enough to touch her. Her hair, usually wound into twin buns on her head to keep it contained and out of her way while she worked, hung loose, framing her face and sweeping low, almost touching the pieces in her hands. Smudges of dirt and grease were in her hair and smeared on her forehead and cheeks. 

Darwin sat next to her, opposite of where Draal stood, watching her handiwork with scrutinous eyes. He sat unnervingly still, which in and of itself seemed like a feat, since the feline already had a knack for rattling people with his natural ‘lifelike’ habits. Seeing the opposite proved to be much more unsettling. 

Darwin was the first to glance up and notice Draal, who stood quietly, unsure of whether to interrupt or not.

The feline didn’t even attempt to call out and break Kaba’s concentration. Instead he slunk closer and gave her a good, hard nip, breaking her attention from her creation. 

Kaba yelped, a coil springing free and popping her in the face. She glared at Darwin, about to yell at him for the unnecessary attack, when she glanced up and finally realized that Draal was standing over them. 

He watched the momentary confusion and then recognition flash through her eyes before holding her bags out to her. “Um…. here are your things.”

She muttered an incoherent thanks and snatched it from him, startling him ever so slightly. He rubbed at the back of his neck, grumbling to himself; unsure what to say or how else he could help, if at all. The woman’s out of character demeanor leaving him more perplexed than usual, and in a significantly different way. 

Kaba shifted through her bags, digging for particular pieces and tools, mentally inventorying what she still needed. 

Within moments she snatched up a piece of paper from nearby that already had a few things scribbled on it, and she jotted down a couple others. 

The moment she finished writing, she flicked her arm up towards Draal, holding the scrap of paper out to him between her index and middle finger. She glanced up at him for a split second but quickly returned her attention to her project. “I need you to get these last few things for me, no matter what. I know they won’t be cheap, but it’s important... “ 

Draal took the paper from her fingers and eyes it suspiciously. Most of the things on the list he was completely unfamiliar with, and was even questioning if he could pronounce half of them. 

He looked up at the sound of a slight jingle and he saw Kaba had distractedly extended her arm up to him again, this time holding a small purse. He plucked it from her hand and looked inside to see an unsettling amount of assorted foreign coins and various gems and crystals. He perked an eyebrow and stared the young woman down. “And what is this for?” 

Without looking up, Kaba retorted. “Most of the things on that list are not cheap. At all... I don’t expect you to get them without funds… I do spellwork and tech work for money and savings, I just don’t need to touch it generally. I don’t have to time to do my own bartering right now, so it’s exactly times like now that that’s for…” 

Kaba’s voice, while in response to his obvious question, seemed automatic and dismissive in tone. 

He growled low in his throat for a moment but ignored the growing discomfort and turned to go about acquiring the list’s contents. 

 

It ended up taking Draal hours, well past sunrise, to manage to find all of the items. By the time he was finishing up, many of the stalls had already closed for the day and only the few that opened for daylight hours were still dealing with customers. 

Kaba had been right, in that many of the items had an appallingly high price, especially for such unimportant looking items. He’d had to still haggle to acquire a bag of a particularly hard to find stones, in the end. What confused him most was that the item was sold as a luxury candy. A treat that wealthy trolls bought for spoiled younglings. How were rock candies so expensive, let alone important for whatever concoction Kaba was meddling with? 

He finally lumbered into Blinky’s study again, looking around to see a distinct absence of the scholarly troll. 

Draal made his way further into the study and finally caught sight of the robust troll, asleep in his chair, surrounded with stacks of open books and snoring loudly.

He made a point to tread slightly more carefully and finally stopped behind Kaba. He had to stop himself from trying to get her attention when he noticed that she was still as engrossed in her work as when he had left. There were significantly less pieces of machinery surrounding her now, and she had set up what seemed to be various shapes and types of glass beakers and jars. Some were filled with liquids or herbs while others sat empty.

Darwin again noticed Draal first, and made a point of getting Kaba’s attention and indicating to Draal above her, this time less violently than before.

Kaba still jolted in surprise, though, before thanking Draal and immediately snatching the items. 

Draal didn’t wait for a response and made his way over to a nearby stool and settled in.

He noticed that the first thing the woman dug around for and pulled out were the luxury candies. She grinned to herself and stared at them, holding them up over her and inspecting them, looking through the semitransparent stones one by one. 

Draal was intrigued as he watched her sort through them, tossing some back into the bag and dropping others into the glass jar beside her, each one tinkling into the container after the next, before settling at the bottom. 

After she had sorted them and filled the jar up to a hand drawn line on the edge, she poured them out into a marble mortar. Draal watched in utter astonishment, his jaw slack, as she proceeded to literally pulverize the expensive candies. Soon all that remained was a dense powder, the color vaguely remnant of the luxurious stones. 

She poured the powder back into the glass and began adding a dizzying amount of various liquids and herbs, each one changing the color and consistency of the mixture.

Draal found himself leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he watched in amazement as the young witch worked, completely oblivious to the world around her. 

Finally she turned slightly and looked to her mechanical companions, who had been sitting next to her and silently observing as well. 

She picked up the small mechanical lizard and brought him closer to her concoction and the other machinery in her lap. 

“Okay, buddy. Slow burn.”

Draal barely heard her give the creature the command; her voice was low and cracked from lack of use over the course of the late night and early morning.

The tiny lizard happily obliged and coughed a few times, emitting sparks before finally holding a slight blue flame steady in front of itself, pointed towards the base of the glass. 

Kaba watched the liquid intensely as it slowly heated and changed color from a murky brownish gold to a vibrant yellow. She occasionally swirled the glass, clearing the liquid of the milky texture as it would form. 

Once the liquid had begun to bubble and turn tacky, Kaba pulled it away and held the container over the device she had been working on. 

She slowly tilted the glass, starting to pour the concoction into an open reservoir on top of the fist sized machine. 

The second it made contact with the metal plating inside of the reservoir though, there was a dull sizzling sound. 

Kaba barely had the time to utter a curse under her breath, and Draal had only managed to stand up in response to the sound, when suddenly there was a small explosion. A cloud of dull yellow-orange vapor and powder, almost like a burst of pollen, erupted from the machine. A flurry of flames shot up from within as well, quickly extinguishing themselves in the midst of the thick cloud. Kaba coughed hard, her lungs struggling for air as she grabbed a rag from nearby and finished extinguishing the embers. 

She managed to stop hacking long enough to note that there was a distinctly burnt smell in the air. 

After a moment she realized there was a lack of color in her line of vision and her hand flung to feel her head. She felt a slight crunch before hitting the soft fluff of hair beneath it, warm flecks breaking at the tips. 

She had managed to gloriously burn off a portion of her hair on the right side. 

Kaba sighed and started cursing towards herself in irritation. She rubbed her hands around on her head in aggravation, messing up the remainder of her hair and rubbing off some of the remaining burnt bits in the process. She yanked the goggles down and let out an aggravated huff before pressing her palms into her eyes. 

Draal stood, staring in utter shock at the woman. He stepped forward, unsure of what to do. “Kaba, are you alright?” 

Kaba sniffed loudly, unintentionally, and rubbed at her eyes. “I’m fine, Draal. It’s just hair. I don’t even care about that.” 

Kaba’s arms snaked up to grab the remainder of her hair and wrap it all up in a loose knot at the top of her head. While she worked on tying it up as best as she could, Darwin slid into her line of sight. 

“You are being careless, Kaba. Working when you are this worked up, you are going to make vital mistakes.” 

Kaba glared at the feline, all but snarling in return. She knew he was right. She hated that he was. 

Draal hardened his resolve and crossed the room, nearing the woman. “Kaba…” 

He was unsure what to say. He may have committed himself to this, but he found himself floundering, nonetheless. He let out a sound that came off as a mix between a groan and a sigh. 

“This isn’t like you… I believe your little friend here is right. I’ve seen you spend entire days enraptured by your creations and projects… but not like this. You are not this irritable and not this prone to carelessness. Not to this extent. You insisted on feeling sorrow on my behalf; let me shoulder some of your burden. Afterall, I may have rocks for brains, but I can do that much.” 

Draal carefully extended a hand, placing it on the young woman’s back. 

Kaba looked to him, her eyes damp, refusing to tear up beyond that. Her eyes flicked up to him, her brows knitting together as she silently mulled over a million thoughts. She finally took a choked breath. 

“We have to take Malak out, Draal…” 

Kaba glanced away, breaking eye contact. She subconsciously touched her arm, tracing the shape of the brand through the bracer. “It was him. I know you aren’t stupid. I bet you figured that much out… but, Draal… it was HIM.” 

She finally turned to look at him again, her hand flitting to his hand and gripping it. The fire in her eyes flared back to life. “I don’t care what it takes. He can’t be allowed to do to anyone else what he did to me…” 

Draal nodded and turned his hand to grip her tiny one in return. “If it is the last thing I do…” 

The choice of words stirred something in Kaba and her breath hitched. Her brows pressed together again and her expression softened. 

She took a deep breath, finally pulling herself down from her turmoil some. 

She gently pulled her hand from Draal’s and grabbed the bag of candy stones. She held one up to him and let him see the milk and honey colors as the light above shone through it. 

“Humans call them sun stones…” 

Draal was taken back at the sudden statement. He eyed the candy suspiciously. 

Kaba extended her hand to him and she placed one of the stones in his hand, wrapping his fingers around it and closing his palm. 

“On their own, trolls can eat them. Human’s can’t, but I’ve heard they’re really popular.” 

Kaba held up the glass beaker, which still had some golden residue clinging to the bottom and sides. “When you chemically break it down though, well, they can be pretty useful for certain spells. If I can combine it with this guy…” Kaba indicated to the small machine in her lap. “Maybe I can make a means of dispersing it better. Weaponize it, basically, so it’s more useful against… him.” 

Draal took in her words carefully, looking from the stone in his hand to the machine. 

As he carefully looked from one to the other, Kaba plucked up the bag containing the rest of the unused stones, putting it in Draal’s hand.

She smiled softly up at him. “Here… I know you’re big and tough and scary, but have these as an apology? I know I’ve probably been a grade A ding-bat this morning…” 

Draal looked at the offered and took in the woman’s apologetic look. Without a second thought, he smiled to her. “Bygones.” 

Kaba smiled thankfully, and Draal popped one of the stones into his mouth, crunching away at it. It had a light, almost sweet yet still acidic taste. Afterwards it left a slight aftertaste that lingered on his tongue. He reached into the small bag again and popped a second happily into his mouth before tying it off and onto his belt. After how much he’d seen they were worth he’d be sure to make them last and be worthwhile. 

The smile on Kaba’s face widened. “So, are they as good as the hype?” 

Draal shrugged with one shoulder and nodded simultaneously. 

Kaba smirked and quirked an eyebrow teasingly. “Maybe I’ll have to have you give me a taste sometime, when we aren’t preparing for mortal danger.” 

Draal gave a confused stare. “I thought you just said humans cannot consume them.”

Kaba turned to look at him again, smiling slyly. “I did. I never said I’d be the one eating them.” 

With that comment she turned away from Draal finally and refocused on the pieces in front of her, refocusing her attention on the task at hand. 

Draal stood silent for a moment as her implication set in. His brows slowly rose as understanding set in and he choked on the candy, suddenly in the midst of a coughing fit. 

Kaba sniggered as she heard the lumbering troll try to regain his breath as well as his composure. 

Darwin gave her disapproving looks until she stuck her tongue out in return. 

After a moment she chose to ignore the feline. She took a breath and muttered a quiet ‘okay…. Here we go…” under her breath. 

Carefully picking up the machine from her lap, she cleaned off the excess residue from the concoction she had filled the basin with. Once it was clean and she found it to be sufficiently filled, she carefully adhered a glass platelet over it to seal it shut. 

After she found it to be sufficiently sealed, she turned it over, inspecting the mechanical workings inside of it and carefully checking the circuitry in turn. Her brows creased together and her nose scrunched up in irritation. 

Finally she dropped the machine and slapped her thigh angrily, cursing to herself. Her hand flew to her face and she pinched the bridge of her nose. 

Draal quirked a brow at her. “Something the matter?” 

Kaba let out a sigh. “Yeah… yeah, just peachy…. I just absolutely fried this thing during my tantrum and the only way to fix it is a way I really don’t like... “ Kaba took a deep breath, strengthening her resolve. Draal noticed that the woman had subconsciously reach for her mouth, picking at the skin on her lips again, nibbling and tearing at a strip until she drew blood and licked it away, bringing herself back to reality. 

“Okay. Draal… I need you to grab me a bucket. Because this is going to absolutely suck…” 

Draal’s confusion and curiosity grew. He rummaged around the room and returned to her side, placing a rubbish pail he had found in the room. As he did, Kaba began pulling various wires from her pack, plugging the inputs into the device. 

Draal’s stare widened as he saw her pull an unsettlingly large needle out in turn, pulling a protective cap off of the tip with an audible POP. She plugged another electrical plug into the end of the strange, bonelike needle and stared at it for a moment. 

Kaba looked up at the troll for a moment and pointed the needle towards him. “I absolutely hate using this thing, but it’s the most effective means I have… kind of like… a biocomputer. It’s entirely optical, but I have to hook up via the nervous system.”

Her statement went over Draal’s head for the most part, but he had an inkling of what she was saying and it left him with an uncomfortable pit in his stomach. “In english, for those of us here with rocks for brains, Kaba.” 

Kaba clenched her jaw for a moment and replied. “I have to hook up to this. When I do, it’s an all around unpleasant experience… you’ll… well, you’ll understand. But I’m letting you know because… even if it is, DO NOT try to forcibly remove anything or you could do some serious damage. It’d probably leave me paralyzed, if I was lucky. So I mean, I guess if you wanted a moment to take me out of the picture, this would be it. But what I’m saying is… don’t freak out. I’m okay. I just may not be up to conversing much until this is done.” 

Draal paused for a moment and then nodded in response. 

Once Kaba saw that Draal had understood and agreed, she took a deep breath. 

She reached behind her head and felt along her hairline, working her way down her spine slightly until she found the loose bit of skin she was looking for. She bit her lip and cringed as her nails found the edge of the piece and proceeded to pull a circular patch of skin-like covering on her neck. As she pulled it away, she felt the vein-like strand of a plug pull free as well. The feel of it sliding out and tugging at her neck was always uncomfortable, though necessary since it was where she had established to be the easiest and best point of entry. 

She tossed the strand and cap of the limp plug into the pail. She would have to create a new one, since once they were removed they were useless. 

Kaba took another deep breath, preparing for the worst part. She tilted her chin down and positioned the needle at the base of her neck, where the minuscule hole was. With excruciating slowness and care, she inserted the needle, gritting her teeth as she felt the sensation of it pushing through the skin. Through the muscle, and finally finding it’s way between two of her vertebrate. 

She paused for a moment before giving the last final push, so that the needle penetrated into the spine, tiny bursts of pain flowering behind her eyelids. Her breathing hitched and a wave of nausea overcame her as she carefully clicked the switch on the side of the needle’s base back, locking it into place with a tiny click. As she did, she felt the spider-like wires push out and curve backward, rooting into place in her spine, and securing the connection with her nervous system. 

Her hands shakily withdrew from the back of her neck and she tilted her head back. She gave a tentative roll of her neck and shoulders, focusing on the feeling in her neck to make sure the connection was rooted properly. She was satisfied to feel that it didn’t shift, though the motion left her with another rolling wave of nausea. This time, she wasn’t as lucky and couldn’t keep it from overtaking her. 

Kaba snatched the pail from next to her and wretched, barely reaching it in time. A few more waves hit her in succession and she proceeded to clear her stomach completely. When the worst finally seemed past her, she leaned her head against the rim and took a moment to catch her breath and regain her composure. Her head jolted up again when she felt a heavy weight on her back. 

She looked back to see Draal had placed a concerned hand on her back, his eyes disturbed and concerned. 

Watching the young woman insert the cable into herself had been as unsettling an experience as he had suspected. Seeing the violent heaving that followed was worse. He wanted to tell her to stop, but he couldn’t bring himself to, something inside himself knowing he shouldn’t. So instead he just gave a comforting pat, reminding her he was there. 

Kaba gave him a forced grin and nodded, sure that if she tried to speak the nausea would win over her again. She shrugged the hand from her back and picked up the small machine in front of her. As she looked at it, a series of numbers and figures registered in her mind and over the machine. 

She concentrated on sorting out various coding and making sure to double check over each and every technical aspect she could via that means. If she was going to have to resort to this, she only wanted to have to do so once. As what felt like hours passed, her head started to pound, the distinct migraine she knew would set in eventually, nagging at her. She pinched the bridge of her nose and focused again, working through it. 

After a little more time, she felt cold gooseflesh rising on her arms. She hated the feeling, as it set in. It felt like her skin was ice, but the flesh below it was burning hot. Slowly, the feeling spread from her arms and started to work through the rest of her body. 

A shudder ran down her spine, as the feeling spread. 

The downside of using her biotech was that it still was far from perfect, and perfecting it was something even she was seldom in the mood to get the quirks out of. For short periods, it functioned fine, though it could be a tad unpleasant. For extended periods, or especially intense sessions, her nervous system quickly rebelled. 

She quickened her pace, checking over the connections and programming she had done. 

Once she was satisfied with her work, she disconnected the assorted wires and plugs from the machine, closing it and turning it over so she could inspect her handiwork. She input a command into it and saw the machine come to life. Finally. 

Kaba let out an audible sigh of relief and touched her chin to her chest again. Her head pounded furiously, hard enough that she could swear she felt her pulse pounding throughout her entire body. She steadied her hands and unhinged the lever on the needle, ever so slowly making the wire tendrils recede and unhook themselves. The feeling of them moving brought another wave of nausea that she barely fought off, taking a moment to pause and steady her hand. Once the switch was carefully clicked into the appropriate place again, she slowly removed the needle from her neck, taking her time, to ensure she didn’t do any damage on the way out. 

As the needle finally pulled away from the skin with a slight tug and pop, she released a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She vaguely heard Draal release a breath he had been holding as well, barely registering the sound. 

Her shoulders drooped and she grabbed a tiny metal tin from her pack, opening it to reveal a flesh-toned balm. She scooped some of the balm with her fingers and smeared it on her neck, as a protective layer as well as a topical remedy, of sorts. It would help with some of the pain and after effects, while also protecting the entry point so that she wouldn’t have to recreate it. 

She sighed and closed the tin, tossing it and the various wires and needle onto her pack. 

Finally she looked up to Draal, squinting slightly, thanks to the awful light sensitivity that was accompanying the migraine. 

He watched her carefully. The hours that had passed as he watched her sit in silence, staring at the machine and visibly fighting off obvious discomfort, left him with lots of time to do just that. 

Watch her and think. 

Her mechanical companion had also watched her like a hawk, tense as he also watched her. 

Draal found himself unsure what to say to her now. He couldn’t think of a way to express his relief that the tense moment had passed. As always, this small, soft, human woman left him floundering and questioning everything he had known, especially about humans outside of the Trollhunter child. 

As he watched her and tried to come up with his words, Kaba broke the silence. She smiled slightly at him and held up the inconspicuous mechanical creation. 

“And now that this is done…. We can properly kick Malak’s fucking ass like he deserves.”


	7. Chapter 7

Draal huffed loudly to himself and downed his pitcher of firewine, slamming the pitcher down as he wiped his chin with his arm. He found himself burning time and drinking in his preferred pub on the outskirts of Trollmarket. Kaba had mentioned talking to Blinkous about needing to ‘take care of some errands’ and that the scholarly troll would probably be the best suited companion for the particular errand. 

Draal had been taken back at the request for the other troll to accompany her, after having spent the better part of his past month in near constant vigil over her. He bit back his slight irritation, and though he was loathe to admit it, jealousy. He had responded with a grumble, claiming to be glad for the time alone to take care of duties he’d had to neglect while constantly around the human. 

Despite his prideful response, he was surprised to find himself sufficiently lacking in things to do. The human Trollhunter and his friend were busy with their schooling. The Barbara woman was away from their home. Blinkous was with Kaba attending to… whatever secret thing it was the two were up to. 

A growl escaped his throat at the thought and he grabbed the freshly filled pitcher and downed it in one gulp yet again. 

A slow glance around the pub was a mere reminder of how long ago this was where he felt most comfortable. Boasting and telling tales of glory and talking away with other trolls. That life was before the Trollhunter though, and he had long since left it behind when he took up residency at the human’s house and took on his role as protector of the place. 

It had been long enough ago, and enough had happened in the course of the year, that he was able to show his face in the pub again, though it was always alone, ignoring the occasional glance of judgment. 

Draal’s focus wandered to the band on his upper arm. The leather strip and spell the human woman had placed to disguise his prosthetic arm. His fingers rapped against the table and he let out an unintentional huff. 

When he realized his thoughts had begun to wander to the human again, he shook his head. He stood quickly and stalked his way across the pub, abandoning his drink and the solitude alike. He needed to busy himself. He had no idea with what, but he would find something. Maybe he would turn his attention to his tunnel system. It could always be expanded or improved upon, after all. 

Draal turned the corner as he left the pub’s entrance, stopping when he slammed directly into a familiar troll’s face. He halted and blinked, registering that he had run into Blinkous. 

The troll held his arms out in greeting, his expression surprisingly optimistic. “Ah, Draal! Just who we were looking for! We were coming to get you now that we have finished acquiring our items.”

Draal quirked a brow. His attention was diverted as a short human form appeared in turn from behind him. Draal’s expression went blank and he blinked as he processed who he was looking at. 

Kaba now stood next to Blinky, with a large bag draped across her chest and onto her back. Except when he looked to her face, there was a distinct lack of color surrounding her. Where there had once been long locks of green and white hair, was… nothing actually. All that remained of the human’s hair was a short, fluffy mess of green, close cropped and obviously sheared off with a knife or shears. He found it reminded him of the moss that grew over stone, in the dark and damp. Thick and dark. 

Had it not been for Darwin draping himself around her shoulders and staring directly at him, he would have doubted his eyes. 

The corner of Kaba’s mouth quirked up in a partial grin. “Hey! Sorry we took so long, Draal.” 

Draal’s head tilted to the side as he took the sight in. He felt his hand start to rise to touch it and he stopped himself, thankfully before the others had noticed. 

Kaba bit her lip as the silence spanned between them. Her hand flicked to her head and she tucked at the hair behind her ear, as if it was still long. When she met no resistance and picked at a short lock and smiled at Draal. 

“I had to have RotGut get some things in for me anyway, so I did some bartering. Since I’d torched part of it off anyway, I used it as a chance to start over new… besides. Human hair is RIDICULOUSLY valuable, so I chopped it and had RotGut start a tab for me; a line of credit so I can pick up things as I need them and not worry about having to make a deal.” 

Draal’s head straightened and he nodded slightly, still processing the drastic change. “Are you sure about it?” 

Kaba laughed under her breath. “Well, I mean, now it’s too late, decision is made and deal is done so… yeah I hope so. But, it’s just hair. It’s whatever.” Kaba shrugged, rolling her shoulders. “Is it that bad?” Another awkward laugh escaped her. “It’s part of why I needed Blinky with me. He was handy when it came to bargaining, since they haven’t worked with me before. Shouldn’t be a problem from now on though.” 

Draal shook his head and opened his hands defensively. “No! No. I mean…” A hand awkwardly slid to the back of his neck for a moment before falling to his side. He nodded and smiled back. “Not bad… different.” 

Kaba’s smile widened and she instantly seemed to have more bounce in her step as she turned to Blinky. 

Blinky looked to her in turn, cupping his hands together. “Well then! I think it is time we get going… I am, to be completely honest, quite curious of this procedure, after discussing it. I must also admit that I am hesitantly hopeful.” 

Draal looked to Kaba in confusion, but got no response. The human turned and headed towards the Hero’s Forge, Blinky not far behind her. 

 

Once they had reached the Forge, Kaba set about preparing the various items she had loaded into the heavy pack. As she pulled each item out she sat and explained each step to Blinky, who observed and took notes, nodding vigorously. 

She had left Darwin with Draal, having mentioned that she wouldn’t need Draal’s assistance until later on. The two of them kept a distance, avoiding putting themselves in the way since Kaba’s demeanor had become serious. Something they both knew to take into appreciation by now. 

Draal watched as Kaba pulled a large bushel of bright green foliage from the pack, which had been tied around the center to keep the tender brushes in a bunch. The soft branches were relatively long, with a slew of tiny, fern-like leaves and green flower buds. 

Kaba tore off a branch and held the fern out to Blinky, who in turn plucked it up and began to inspect it from every angle. 

“Is this the plant you mentioned, Kaba?” 

Kaba nodded and untied the bundle, spreading it out and unclumping the lush greenery. 

“Yup. Since I’m sure you’ll want to know, it’s ‘Phyllanthus niruri’, scientifically speaking.” 

Blinky nodded enthusiastically and jotted the name down in a leather bound journal he had brought along. “Yes! Of course! Thank you, Madam. It is quite curious. I know about many plants and herbs humans utilize, but troll knowledge of such can be rather limited when it comes to lesser known genera.” 

Kaba nodded and held up another piece, looking intently up at Blinky as she settled into a comfortable position. “It’s also commonly called the Gale of the Wind. It’s other name though, is Stonebreaker…” 

Quiet overtook the group and the Forge suddenly felt still. 

Blinky’s glance flicked over to Kaba. “You don’t say.” 

Kaba nodded again, twirling it in her fingers for a moment. “Exactly.” 

The woman sat cross legged, with a large bowl resting in the hollow between her legs. She began to show Blinky by example how to prep the plant, running her hands down the strands to separate the leaves and buds from the branches, and in turn how to utilize the leaves. With each step, the troll watched eagerly and took notes. 

Draal watched from a distance, worry and unease starting to nag at the back of his mind as what they were attempting started to sink in. 

Kaba proceeded to show Blinky how to make a poultice from the leaves, which, once it was finished, she began to pull yards at a time of a gauzy looking fabric from her pack. 

At this point she enlisted Draal’s help, having him rip the fabric into more manageable strips before handing them off to her again. Once each piece was easier to deal with, she started carefully folding them into the poultice. 

This repeated until all of the fabric sat in the bowl, absorbing the greenish mixture. 

Kaba stood again, raising her arms over her head and cracking her back before facing Blinky again. 

“And now the tedious part…” 

 

As it turned out, tedious was definitely a fitting term. Kaba enlisted Draal’s help, since he was the tallest of them, so he was able to reach the worst of the stone figure’s bulk. He had lost count of the number of times she fussed and snapped at him, having him relay strips of cloth to ensure it was sufficiently wrapped and draped. 

Blinky and Kaba had their work cut out for them applying the poultice dipped cloths over the rest of the looming figure, the human woman attending to the small details of the giant’s fingers with an admirable meticulousness. 

Once they had finished, all that remained exposed was the statue’s face. 

Kaba approached it, the bowl of the remaining mixture in cradled in one arm. One of her hands rose to the heart wrenching expression that the figure held, gently touching the face as her brows creased. Her face was somber and mournful. She didn’t need to know the figure to know the pain that expression so clearly held. 

Draal and Blinky watched in silence as the human dipped her hand into the poultice and carefully applied it to the hard, cold skin using slow, deliberate strokes. 

Once she had finished, she stepped back, taking a deep breath. 

She placed the bowl to the ground, resounding in a low thump, and looked to the pair of trolls. 

“And now we wait.” 

Blinky’s expression wound tight with worry. “So do you know how long this should take, to take effect?”

Kaba shook her head, sorrowfully. “No, sorry… This is my first time actually doing this. It should take a couple hours, I think? It’s basically reversing body calcification, so it depends on how long it takes for it to break down and ‘pull out’ that calcium salt.” 

Blinky nodded grimly. “Only time will tell, then.” 

Draal made an offer to Blinky, after a few hours had passed, to keep watch and let him know if there were any changes. As he expected though, Blinky declined, insisting on being nearby, pacing anxiously, unable to distract himself as the minutes ticked on. 

Draal leaned heavily against the nearby wall. He was sure that by now he’d have dozed off, had it not been for the palpable anxiousness that hung in the air. He ended up passing his time alternating between watching the other troll pace incessantly, and watching over Kaba, who had pulled a very reluctant Darwin, scratching his chin for comfort with one hand, while reading over the same page of her Grimoire repeatedly. From the glance Draal had dared over her shoulder, it was the page referencing body calcification in trolls. 

Kaba’s opposite hand flitted to her lip, as he had seen her do countless times now. He was certain that it was a subconscious habit, since she always seemed startled by the pain as if it was the first time. Draal was unsure how she hadn’t manage to do significantly more damage to herself. Then again, how was he to know she hadn’t before. 

Draal was yanked from his thoughts as the mechanical feline rose from her lap, his attention focusing on the hulking stone figure, his ears twitching. Kaba, in turn, looked to the figure and stood up, squinting at it and stepping forward slightly. 

Draal and Blinky exchanged a glance and turned to take in the silent figure. 

The cloth that draped over the creature had changed colors, darkening to a deep gray until a white, hard powder had started to harden on the outside of the material. Upon closer inspection, the material had also thickened significantly. 

Kaba gnawed at the corner of her lip and inspected the figure. As she did, the entire group fell silent as a noise shook them. Barely audible, they heard a shifting, grinding sound. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but each of them had clearly heard it. 

The trio exchanged fevered looks and Kaba placed a hand on the figure, feeling the fabric crunch under her hand. She turned back to Blinky and gave him a nod before carefully grabbing a section of the cloth and unfastening it. In moment Blinky was at her side, helping to slowly unroll the fabric. 

As each inch of material easily separated from the figure, it crackled and crumbled. Powder and dust and minerals breaking apart and becoming dust, clouding the air and causing the human to cough. With each strip that was pulled from the figure though, a new, lighter color of stone was slowly revealed. 

Once they were half done, Kaba had Draal assist Blinky with the cloth so she could rub at the fresh, raw stone with a cloth. 

All of them froze when they heard a groan. The figure in front of them suddenly crunched loudly and started to creak and move. 

The creature slowly moved it’s immense hand to it head, rubbing at it, powder and minerals crumbling away at the motion. 

“What…. Happen….” 

Silence hung in the air for a moment until Blinky broke the silence with a choked sound. Tears welled in each of his eyes. 

“Aaarrrgghh!! My good man! You are alive! By the Gods, it worked!” 

Aaarrrgghh opened an eye to look at Blinky. 

“Aaarrrgghh head hurt… body hurt.” 

Kaba let out a sigh that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. “Yeah, you’re probably going to feel pretty sore and still for a few weeks… we’ll have to reapply and do this again a few times. You’ll still have an excess amount of calcium salts until we can fully flush your system. Which, with trolls isn’t easy.” 

The lumbering troll turned to the human, a confused look quickly overtaking the disgruntled one. 

“Who is human?” 

Blinky and Draal looked to Aaarrrgghh and Kaba in turn. Draal stepped towards her and put a hand on her back, draping her shoulders. 

“This is Kaba.” 

Blinky nodded and chimed in. “She told us how to save you, Aaarrrgghh. With her help, we brought you back.” 

Aaarrrgghh turned to Kaba again, taking a moment and registering what had been said. 

The silence hung in the room for what felt like hours until Aaarrrgghh nodded and smiled at the human, stepping forward and stiffly wrapping her in a bear hug. “Kaba. Good friend.” 

Kaba pat the creature’s back as best as she could and smiled, trying not to let her eyes cloud. 

When the troll finally pulled away he gave her a final nod. “Thank… you.” 

Kaba smiled again, wider, her eyes welling up slightly, but refusing to do more than that. “Anytime, Big Guy…” 

Aaarrrgghh looked to Blinky again, his brow crunching together with a slight crackling noise. “Wingman?” 

Blinky looked to Aaarrrgghh and nodded enthusiastically. “Tobias is well! He is okay. In fact…” 

The troll looked to Kaba, who nodded her head and pulled out her phone. 

She paced away from the group, sniffing for a moment and clearing her voice. She punched in the number by memory and listened to the faint ringing until Jim’s voice came through the line. 

“Hey. Jim… you’ve gotta get to Trollmarket. And Jim?” 

The young Trollhunter’s voice was confused and concerned. “Hmm? What?” 

“Bring Toby.” 

 

When the young Trollhunter and his friend had made it to Trollmarket, Kaba and the other two trolls had finished removing Aaarrrgghh’s bindings and had helped buff as much of the residual mineral coat from his skin as they could. 

Blinky went back into the heart of Trollmarket to gather the human’s when they arrived, accompanying them to the Forge. 

The moment the two confused humans locked eyes with the towering troll, the stood in shock and bewilderment. After a few moments, the reality sunk in. 

Toby’s voice shattered the silence that hung in the air. “Wingman? Is that you?” 

Aaarrrgghh’s cheeks crunched as a smile spread across his face. “Wingman. A-Okay.” 

Tears welled in Toby’s eyes and a grin crept onto his face as he ran to the troll. Tiny fists hit at it’s arm and side, though even if the intent had been to harm him, the troll wouldn’t have felt them. 

“Oh my god. You have to be more careful, Wingman! I didn’t know what I was going to do without you… But… you’re back.” 

Toby’s head shot up, confusion in his eyes. The question at hand dawning on his and the Trollhunter’s faces in unison. 

“But…. how are you back?” 

Aaarrrgghh nodded back at the green-haired human, who had taken a spot away from the group for their reunion, sitting with her knees bent and supporting her arms. 

Aaarrrgghh’s voice was more gravely than either of them remembered as he spoke a single word. “Kaba.” 

As the two boys looked to the woman in confusion, she stood up and popped her back. 

“It’s a long story. Blinky can fill you in on details later.” 

Draal watched as the human took an unsteady step, that he had grown accustomed to. Her prosthetic gave her an ever so slight limp when she was beginning to tire. He’d noticed it after she had been lost in her projects for hours and after she did any magic workings. He also knew it was why she wasn’t up to hashing out details, but knew by now she would be too stubborn to take her leave. 

Draal glanced down, giving Darwin a distinct look before receiving a slight nod in return. The silent conversation proving that the mechanical companion was aware of the same fact. 

Draal stepped forward. “Blinkous.” 

The group turned as Draal spoke up. 

“How about you and the Trollhunter can get Aaarrrgghh back and comfortable. I’m sure Vendel will want to know about this.” 

Blinky nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, I am very sure he will. I’m sure he’ll want to speak to Kaba about the process and see the results firsthand. This is… This is life-changing for the trolls of Trollmarket!” 

Kaba began to nod in reply but Draal put a hand out to keep her from stepping forward. “Of course, Blinkous… Soon. You can take care of things from here for now.” 

Blinky’s eyes blinked in shock for a moment before glancing to the human, realization dawning on him as well. “Why, of course! Master Jim and Tobias, I’m sure, will be more than happy to accompany myself and Aaarrrgghh to see Vendel, and to get Aaarrrgghh some much needed rest.” 

Blinky turned and began to wordlessly usher the human. He began to help Aaarrrgghh as well, bracing his stiff movements, when he turned to speak over his shoulder. 

“It has been quite a long and eventful night, and I am sure that Aaarrrgghh is not the only one who could do for rest and recuperation from it. I, for one, am sure I will benefit from a good sleep after this…. Might I suggest similar for you.” 

Kaba and Draal quietly watched as the rest of the group made their way out of the Forge. 

Once they were out of sight, Kaba sighed deeply, her posture slouching slightly as she rolled her head along her sore shoulders and neck. Before waiting on a reply, she stepped back and leaned against the wall again, her back sliding down it until her knees were drawn up high again. She rubbed at her neck, rolling it again. 

“Sorry, Draal. I’m just… kind of tired after all that. That many tense hours, and making everything and being scared shitless it wouldn’t work… it’s hitting me all at once, I guess. Just… give me a minute and we can go.” 

Draal nodded earnestly. “Of course.” 

As he waited on the human to gather herself, he leaned against the wall next to her, bracing against it and slowly taking in the rest of the Forge. His gaze swept across each previous Trollhunter, thoughts of what he had just witnessed still fresh in his mind. He couldn’t stop his gaze from halting on the figure of his father for a moment. 

He quickly looked away from it, but apparently not fast enough for the human to notice what he had been looking at. 

“I’m sorry, you know… It just… won’t work if they aren’t whole… or else I would do it. In a heartbeat.” 

Kaba’s stare was fixated on the figure. 

Draal let out a sigh and turned to her. “Kaba.” 

Kaba tilted her head slightly, just enough to look at him out of her peripheral vision. “Yeah?” 

“You have done enough. I promise you. You give too much of yourself… And besides… My father lives on. He lives on in The Void and he lives on guiding future Trollhunters…” 

The corner of Kaba’s mouth turned upwards. 

“I wish I could have met him.” 

Draal snorted. “Now that would have been an encounter I would have paid to see.” 

Kaba smirked. “That bad, huh? Him or me?” 

Draal laughed louder this time around and returned the smirk with his own. “Both. You are both far too hard headed. Though I know not how he would have taken to your…. ‘Endearing’ personality, I must say.” 

Kaba laughed hard enough she had to suppress a snort, a hand flying up to cover her mouth and nose, a hoarse, wheezing breath heaving from her chest. The reaction made Draal laugh again, even harder, and soon the two were both struggling to regain their composure. 

One they had managed the feat, Draal helped Kaba gather her numerous supplies and her packs. He subconsciously reached an arm down and let Darwin silently climb up to his shoulder. 

The troll glanced over at the human, as they made their way away from both the Hero’s Forge and Trollmarket. She followed Draal, a few steps behind and to the side of him. She was in her own little world, smiling at the tiny robotic lizard in her hands, the two of them chirping away and seeming to have a conversation amongst themselves. 

Before he realized it, they reached the stone wall separating them from the human world and Draal pulled out his Horngazel, tracing the arched doorway onto the stone as he did each time he came and left from Trollmarket. 

Kaba chuckled to herself and finally looked up as the doorway illuminated itself and opened. “You know, that really would have been so much easier than that damn teleportation spell.” She eyed the Horngazel and sighed, smirking. She immediately shrugged the thought off though. “But, hey! I know I can do it now! So I have that going for me!”

Draal tucked the Horngazel away and snorted, suppressing a chuckle, leading the way back to the Trollhunter’s home. 

 

Once they had reached the house, it didn’t take long for tiredness to overtake both of them. The events of the past 24 hours had been more tiring than either had realized or admitted. 

Draal sleepily looked to the young woman in his lap and tried to recall how she had gotten there. He couldn’t seem the recall, as much as his dreary head tried, though he vaguely remembered her crawling there, fussing and muttering about something or another the entire time. 

He rubbed his eyes to clear them some and looked at the sleeping human in his lap. 

He was sitting up, with his legs crossed and his back against the wall; the human draped across his lap. He eyed her for a moment and let out a low grumble, trying to decide if it was worth trying to move the woman. The grumble roused her enough that she rolled over, half waking. 

In her half-sleeping state, as she turned, she wriggled tighter against him, one of her hands slipping up his stomach and chest. 

In a heartbeat Draal was wide awake at the touch, staring at the lethargic figure in his lap. 

The hand lazily worked it’s way up to his neck, in the nook where his chin reached the base of his horns. When the fingers were stopped, bumping into the horns, she stopped. Delicate fingers began to rub and scratch, ever so gently. 

Draal began to instinctively jerk away, but stopped at the feather-light sensation. He held himself there for a moment, silently realizing she had gone to stroke him as if he was her feline companion, in her languid state. 

A low rumble started to resonate in his chest as he lost himself in the slight touch. He was embarrassed to admit, it was calming. The deep rumble in his chest roused the woman slightly and half-lidded eyes slid up to meet his. 

The young woman stopped moving her fingers and smirked, trying her best to make a mental note of the movement and the spot for future reference, though she was sure she would forget come morning. 

Draal gulped, terror filling him a the realization that he had purred in reaction to the touch, and that the young woman had noticed his reaction. He froze, staying perfectly still. 

Hazel eyes slowly slid shut again and she let out a tiny, breathy sigh, her hand moving again instinctively. As she did, Draal was unable to suppress the rumble from rising in his chest. He wanted to pull away, but found that he really didn’t mind the touch as much as he anticipated. 

As the woman felt the slight vibration, the corner of her mouth slid into a smug smile and she curled tighter into a ball in the troll’s lap. 

Within moments her hand slumped and slid to cradle itself against her chest. Draal lazily glanced down, noticing the slowed breathing and realizing she had drifted back into a full slumber again. 

The troll tilted his head, looking at the dozing figure. His gaze was drawn to her ears, which, now that there was no hair covering them, he could see were covered from top to bottom in an array of glittering metal and jewelry. 

The realization made his eyes wander to the mess of hair on the human’s head. It truly did make her appear like a completely different person. It was common to see troll’s with hair and style it a variety of ways, but it stunned him to see what a change it made on the fleshy human. Draal stared at the unruly hair for a few moments, silently wondering if it was as soft and feathery as it looked. Slowly, he reached a hand up towards her face. . 

Ever so carefully, he touched the woman’s head, running fingers over the wispy hair and tucking it away from her face and neck, reveling in the feel of it for a moment. 

A smile creased his lips and he readjusted himself to better support the human cradled in his lap. 

He looked to the slumbering face as his eyelids grew heavy again in turn, the mess of green taking up his vision. His smile deepened, ever so slightly. 

Strong, stone arms wrapped protectively around the plump human who lay curled up in his lap. 

He was right. 

It had been soft.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! 
> 
> After months of forced hiatus, I was finally able to get this chapter up for you guys. 
> 
> I apologize for the lapse; I've been dealing with some major medical issues that have prevented me from being able to write. Adding in a lapse in proper medical care means I've had to put off getting Carpal Tunnel Release surgery, and I've been unable to access my physical therapy. So it's been a pretty painful few months. This will also be the reason that I'm not going to be able to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, sadly. 
> 
> Instead, I'm going to be focusing on finishing up this particular fic over the course of this month. So, as long as nothing crops up, you all should be seeing the end of Kaba and Draal's main story arc soon! 
> 
> I've had multiple people ask about this story and even some worried that I had dropped it completely. I promise, it's fully planned out and ready to go. I just need the time and energy and it'll be up soon. As a thank you for being such loyal, patient readers, once the story is over, I'll be posting a NSFW Epilogue. (Gunna earn that rating, ya'll, just wait.) For those of you that aren't into explicit scenes, it won't be necessary for the plot, but it'll be a nice treat for the rest of you guys~
> 
> The following chapters are already in progress, so don't forget to comment, leave kudos, and subscribe! Interaction and feedback is my motivation to get things finished even faster!
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
> 
> WARNING: We have some semi-graphic scenes in this chapter and some mild body horror, so feel free to skip any paragraphs that make you uncomfortable. I tried to format them so that they are easy to skip without missing any important plot.

Kaba clenched her fists and took what must have been her 100th deep breath in the past five minutes. As her hands unclenched, she noticed the wetness on them, her palms radiating heat, and she rubbed them on her thighs for momentary relief. 

She took heavy, yet cautious steps, as she tailed the young Trollhunter. 

Jim silently led the way, stopping on occasion to look behind him and check on Kaba and Draal as they made their way down the canal. They were further down than he had ever been, and it had him more anxious than he cared for. Not that he didn’t have reason enough for his heightened anxiety already. 

Talking with Kaba and Blinky about Malak had led to more than a fair amount of planning and prepping. Kaba had been convinced that now that Malak knew where she was, he wouldn’t stray far. With some research of city maps and ordinances at the library nearby, they were able to find an offset tunnel, breaking away from the main canal, that was still under construction. 

Once Kaba saw it she was sure Malak would be using it as a home base. It was close enough to keep an eye on her and on the Trollhunter, while being just far enough away for seclusion. 

Having pinpointed their best bet for finding the troll, Jim and Kaba were in agreement that they should search him out and bring the fight to him. It would give them the element of surprise and hopefully enough of an advantage that it would turn the tides of fate in their favor. Besides, none of the group could bear sitting around and waiting, or potentially risk any of the Trollmarket residents. 

So here they were. 

The small group crept in silence, all of them on high alert. 

It took an excessive amount of reasoning and pleading, but they had been able to convince Aaarrrgghh to stay behind. He was still far from healed and needed rest so he could finish recuperating. Going headfirst into a fight in his condition went beyond just being a poor decision. It would be suicide. It was finally Toby’s heartfelt pleas and promises of staying back with him, promising to use his phone to check up on Jim and the others, that convinced the monstrous troll to stay behind. 

Draal closely flanked Kaba, watching her and meeting the occasional worried glance from the feline around her neck. His eyes flicked to the human woman’s hand, clearly clenching and unclenching from the anxiety that was overwhelming her. He could hear her labored breathing, despite the fact that they weren’t on troublesome terrain, and he could swear he heard her heart pounding even from where he stood. 

Draal felt his throat tighten, his fists clenching in turn as he watched her obvious anxiety manifesting itself. He strode forward and cleared the space between them, placing a hand lightly on her back, giving her a comforting glance when her face jolted to meet his; startled at the unexpected touch. She returned a pained, forced smile and nodded slightly. 

Just as she cleared her throat to promise him she was okay, her attention was drawn by Darwin, who had stiffened around her shoulders. She could hear the heightened whir of his systems as his eyes narrowed, his mechanical voice low. “Quiet… we’re close… I can hear the demon himself. I’d never mistake that noise…” 

Jim and Draal exchanged a somber, ever so slightly confused look and listened harder; their footfalls quieting even more as they crept past debri and construction supplies. 

Kaba bit her lip, her brow setting firm across her face. 

Within moments, all three of them heard what the mechanical feline had meant. A low crunching and tearing noise, only broken up by an occasional slurp and a low, satisfied chuckle, began to rise from the darkest corner of the site. 

Jim narrowly avoided tripping over a steel beam, catching himself and looking up, into the dark corner as the laugh quickly escalated. 

The trio stiffened as they watched the broad shoulders and dirty red pelt shake with laughter and slowly rise up as the creature stood and turned to face them. Two horns swung languidly toward them as it looked at them, smirking while jagged, broken teeth tore flesh from what they silently hoped was just some misfortunate forest creature. Faster than they could try to identify the meaty bone and pulp, it was dismissively tossed over the troll’s shoulder. 

A long black tongue slid out and lazily lapped at the red slick marring the beast’s face and talons. The sinister laugh bubbled out of the troll’s throat again as the smirk widened. It’s gravely voice rose, grating against them. 

“Are you impatient for death, Trollhunter? You could have spent your last days with your loved ones, but instead you do me the service of delivering yourself to me on a crystal platter.” 

Dark, glassy eyes slid over to Kaba, making her have to dig her nail into her palms to stop the tremors that threatened to overtake her. The troll’s smile widened ear to ear and he licked over his lips again. “And you even brought my little pet; how thoughtful of you... You’ve saved me so much time and energy.” 

Draal’s jaw clenched tight, a growl rumbling in his chest as he took in how the other troll hungrily eyed the woman. His gaze quickly darted to Jim to see if the boy was concocting a plan. 

The young Trollhunter’s hand was already perched over his shoulder, gripping the handle of one of his blades, his knuckles clenching so tight his armor creaked. The boy’s eyes flicked up to meet Draal’s. For a moment they stayed locked like that until they each gave the other a silent, understanding nod. 

All at once the tension in the air snapped like a band that had been wound far too tight. As Malak stepped forward, Draal and Jim both launched themselves towards him in unison and suddenly the throes of battle were upon the group. 

Malak’s experience in battle quickly became obvious to the troll and Trollhunter alike. It took both of them working in tandem to keep the fight evenly paced. Draal managed to get Malak into a hold and bare him to the young Trollhunter, but in moments Malak was able to break free thanks to the use of his spider-like secondary arms. 

While the three fought, Kaba quickly surveyed their immediate surroundings, finding herself a relatively guarded spot, and clambering behind it as quickly as she could. As the woman took cover, she felt her heartbeat pounding in her chest and ears and looked down at her hands as they shook. She clenched and unclenched her fists, closing her eyes and mentally calming herself, taking deep, intentional breaths. Now wasn’t the time. She couldn’t lose herself. She had a job to do. 

She heard a quiet chirp and looked to her shoulder. Mechanical, feline eyes met hers and a tiny, lizard-like form chirped worriedly. Finally she managed to still herself and slow her breathing, giving the two a quick nod. “I’m okay, guys. I promise. Now let’s finish this!” 

Quickly, she slung her backpack to her front and dug around in it, gathering and preparing her things. Thankfully it didn’t take much thought since she had intentionally emptied her pack of anything that was not a potential necessity. She yanked out two heavy leather gloves from the pack and tugged them roughly onto her hands, flexing her fingers quickly to ensure they were on snuggly. As soon as they were settled, she grabbed the goggles that hung around her neck and yanked them up, covering her eyes and securing them properly across her face, adjusting them slightly. She silently found herself grateful for her lack of hair, since it wasn’t getting in her way or getting painfully tugged by the goggles. 

Just as Kaba finished getting herself prepared, she turned to take in the altercation behind her. In the mere minutes, maybe even mere moments she had busied herself, the favor of the fight had obviously shifted, and not in their favor. 

Malak had the young Trollhunter pinned and was in the process of wrapping a steel pipe around him to immobilize him, laughing as he twisted the metal as easily as if it were clay. Jim strained at the beam, trying to free himself, but to no avail. The tall, menacing troll slowly turned around to face the human woman, his ever present smile mocking their efforts. 

Kaba glanced around, thankful when she saw that Draal was significantly closer to her than Malak was. She quickly, quietly, muttered under her breath to her mechanical companions. “Okay Darwin… guys… hold on tight!” 

She vaguely registered Darwin’s panicked cry in her ear of ‘Oh Gods, no, Kaba!’ as she braced herself and took off running towards Draal. 

As she ran she shouted with as much force as she could muster into her cry. 

“DRAAL! Fastball Special!” 

Draal quickly looked up in response to Kaba’s shout, and at the sound of her running towards him. For a split second, the comprehension crossed his face before he nodded, clenching his jaw. He quickly stood up and braced himself, staring down the small girl charging at him as his heels dug into the dirt and gravel with a harsh crunch. 

Just as she made impact with him, he turned, letting her brace herself and all of her weight into his arm and cupped hand. Without a moment’s hesitation he braced his other hand behind her, to guide her direction, and spun around, launching the girl as hard as he could towards other troll, following through with a loud, bellowing battle cry. 

Kaba felt Darwin’s claws through the fabric of her jacket as he braced himself into her when they became airborne. She took a deep breathe and began to scream in unison with Draal’s outcry. As she sliced through the air she swung her feet forward and leaned her weight into her prosthetic leg, hurtling towards Malak’s stunned face.

Malak’s eyes grew wide, confusion filling them as he took in the human woman careening towards him. He barely managed to collect himself in time to block the impact, bracing himself as the full force of the woman’s kick struck his chest, knocking the wind out of him. 

As Malak gathered himself, Kaba pushed herself up from where she had landed on Malak’s form. She managed to kick away one of the larger troll’s knives and began to pry a second from one of his lower hands. If she could just disarm the larger troll, it could shift the entire fight in Draal and the Trollhunter’s favor. As she worked, she glanced up to see Draal trying to work quickly to pry the young Trollhunter free from his makeshift bindings.

Diverting her attention though, even for a split second, had been a grave mistake. 

Malak growled beneath her and grabbed the girl’s arms, yanking them up and over her head with ease. She gripped at the knife in her palm, that she had just barely muscled away, her knuckles turning white with effort as she struggled, a thick trickle of blood dripping from her grip. 

Suddenly a dark, snarling, familiar maw was inches from her face. 

Kaba choked, forcing the bile to keep from rising further in her throat as the stagnant, familiar stench of the troll’s breath assaulted her senses. She felt one of his weathered hands come up and start to roughly stroke her skin, taking in the supple softness of it. Talons slid up to pluck at the short, choppy wisps of hair that remained in front of her ear, as another arm snaked around her, pinning her to him. Graphic memories came flooding back and her head started to become light, his gravely voice grating at her mind. 

“Now why did you have to go and make yourself so... ugly and unappealing? Afterall, I always did so love your hair, Pet…” The last word oozed heavily from his lips like poison.

Kaba’s chest heaved at the words, all of her years of pain and rage starting to bubbled to the surface. She gasped heavily between her words, but spoke as firmly as she could muster, matching the venom of his words with her tone. 

“I am NOT your ‘Pet’... And I never will be again!” 

As she finally managed to choke out the words, she yanked away the hand that was touching her face and hair, biting down on the rough, putrid flesh as hard as she could manage. 

Scrambling to get away, Kaba grabbed a fistful of loose dirt from the ground next to her and threw it towards his face. 

The large troll let out a pained yell and began to curse, letting go of the woman so he could cradle his hand and rub at his eyes. Snarling, he quickly tried to rectify his mistake and blindly reached for her again. 

Before he could manage to fumble to take hold of the human woman though, a flash of metal and blue light lunged at him. Suddenly he is yowling and clawing at the mechanical creature that had firmly attached itself to his face and neck, which was hissing and screeching wildly. Kaba momentarily found herself unsure if it was at her or at the troll under attack. 

Thanks to Darwin’s distraction though, Kaba managed to scramble away to a safe distance again, her chest heaving with wheezing, labored breaths. 

Malak managed to pry the mechanical creature from his body and fling it away. It landed a few feet away with a loud crack and lay abruptly still. Suddenly so utterly, deathly quiet; no mechanical whir coming from the tiny body. 

Kaba’s breathing became more erratic as she frantically clambered toward her feline companion. She looked up to take where Malak was into account and was relieved to see that Jim and Draal had managed to throw themselves into the fight again, keeping the taller troll sufficiently busy. 

Trembling hands gingerly picked up the feline’s body as she let out a choked gasp, holding it to her chest. She franticly looked it over, silently panicking. Any repairs she needed to do were far too extensive to do in such a rushed, dangerous setting. 

Her gaze slid over to the knife she had managed to pry away from Malak and in an instant she put her emergency plan into action. Cradling the bundle of mechanical parts to her chest, she used her teeth to yank the torn leather glove from her hand, exposing her skin to the cool air. Without a second’s hesitation, she used the knife to slice the shallow cut in her palm, deepening it to free the bloodflow more. 

Working quickly, she pulled her hand over the metal breastplate protecting Darwin’s chest and drew a crude sigil into the muddled smear, muttering foreign words under shaky breath as she worked. As soon as she lifted her hand, she felt the familiar heaviness in the air when her magic was at work. Within moments the subtle blue light behind the feline’s eyes flickered to life and the shallow whir of his insides began to start up. 

Kaba let out a breathy sigh as she held Darwin tight to her chest. She whispered low to him, feeling the tiredness edge at the back of her mind, the only thing warding it off was the adrenalin rush that was actively pushing her forward. “You scared me there buddy… Fuck… You… you’re systems need an overhaul… you can’t function like this… even your voice box is broken, so don’t freak out or try to speak… I had to make sure your soul wouldn’t unbond…” 

The light blue eyes lazily rolled up to look at her face, comprehension shining in them. 

Kaba let out a shaky breath and continued. “I want you to go into standby mode, okay, buddy? I’ll wake you up when it’s safe… you stay in here until this is over okay? Please.” She pulled the strap of her pack, yanking the backpack forward again and gently wrapping the feline into it, curling him up into what she hoped to be a comfortable position, though deep down she knew it didn’t matter. 

Worried eyes stared at her as she positioned the feline. 

Kaba grabbed the fist sized machine from next to him, as well as a tied leather pouch, and forced a strained smile. “I’ll be okay, Darwin… I’m pulling out the big guns. This won’t last long, I promise… When you wake up, I’ll have you back up and nagging at me in no time, okay?” Tears pricked at the woman’s eyes as she fought to keep her composure, showing him the machine in her hand. 

After what felt like hours, but was in actuality merely moments, Darwin’s eyes closed and the light behind them faded. The mechanical whir of his body quieted and mellowed until Kaba could barely make it out. 

Finally she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and carefully tied the pack closed again, patting it faithfully before slinging it over her back and securing the strap snugly across her chest. Gripping the device to her chest, she pocketed the leather satchel and turned towards the ensuing fight. 

With firm, resolute steps, she began to stalk towards the fray of the fight, punching a code into the keypad of the device. She clenched her hand and arm, watching as Drall managed to grip one of Malak’s arms, yanking him down to his knees and presenting him again to the young Trollhunter. Her breath hitched in her throat hopefully, pausing before finishing pressing the code into the small device and watching as Jim swung the heavy blade towards the troll’s throat. 

The held breath escaped her though as a weight sunk in her stomach. Malak managed to kick the young Trollhunter’s legs from beneath him and avoid the fatal strike, laughing as turned to wrench his arm free from the stockier troll’s grip. 

Kaba wrenched herself into action, quickly pressing the final number into the keypad and pulling her arm back to hurl the device towards them. 

“Draal! Get away from hi-” She started to give a warning cry to the other troll when she heard a winding, dying noise from the machine in her hand, her voice cutting off instantly. 

She looked to the device and saw the light within it muddy and darken as it quickly became silent, muttering frantic curses under her breathe. “Every God Damned time, Gods fuck me!” 

Kaba angrily slammed her fist against the back of the device, glancing with panicked eyes at Draal as Malak began to break free from the hold. Her heart began to pound harder, threatening to break free from her chest as Malak’s attention was drawn to her voice, his smirk curling the edges of his lips as he ignored the troll her had begun to shove away. 

Draal watched as Malak’s attention was drawn to the human woman again, so easily forgetting his vendetta against the Trollhunter and his current fight for his apparent prize and priority. His eyes flicked up to Kaba’s face, noting the panic setting in as she franticly looked to the mechanic bundle in her hand.

The fear in her face struck something deep inside of him. Letting out a bellowing growl he quickly grabbed for Malak again. “You’re fight with me is not over, scum!” 

Malak’s head flicked back to Draal, malice seeping into his expression. “Who says you are worth my time, peon? This is no fight, this is merely whipping a sniveling whelp!” The lean troll ripped himself free again and swung one of his remaining blades towards Draal. 

Kaba snapped out of her frozen stupor, watching the large trolls wrestle and dodge each other, as Jim shook her shoulder.  
“Kaba! What are you doing?! If you aren’t going to use whatever you have up your sleeve, you need to get away! Now!” The Trollhunter gripped her shoulder, confusion in his eyes as he looked at the trinket in her hand. 

Kaba gripped the device tightly, watching Draal and Malak spar for a moment longer before meeting Jim’s worried stare with a firm, resolute stare of her own. 

“If you can’t take him out… keep him distracted. I need you to keep him busy to make this work.” 

Jim’s grip tightened on her shoulder as he mulled over her words, quickly processing them. Finally he returned a curt nod. 

“Okay… Yeah. We can do that. Just work fast.” 

Before Kaba could respond, Jim threw himself back towards Malak, managing to use his blade to deflect an attack that nearly stuck Draal’s side. “Hey, ugly! Don’t forget your beef is with me!” 

Kaba willed herself to run and take cover again nearby, working as quickly as her shaking hands could manage. 

Draal let out a relieved sigh as the young Trollhunter distracted the limber troll for a moment, regaining his composure and glancing over just in time to see Kaba disappear behind a pile of rubble. He turned to bring his attention back to the other troll, turning just in time to lock eyes with the other troll. Dark eyes glistened as they watched Draal survey the area and sparked as he noticed the clear relief on Draal’s face as Kaba temporarily removed herself from danger. 

Malak ripped away Jim’s sword with ease, throwing it away from them before it disappeared into wisps of smoke and light. A deep, hollow rumble rose from his chest, bubbling into a sickening laugh, all the while never breaking contact with Draal’s stare. Even Draal couldn't deny the unnerving way those eyes bore into him. The way they seemed to have a sadistic, joyful spark behind them. It was a look Draal was sure he would never forget, even if he wanted to. 

Having disarmed the human Trollhunter, Malak bore into Draal, standing tall at his full height and towering over the stockier troll. “Well, isn’t this quaint? It seems my Pet has found a new owner in my absence… you seem quiet worried about our little Toy.” 

Draal froze as the words rung in his ears, setting his very skin on fire. 

“What did you say, snake?” Draal growled menacingly, flexing his fists as his lip curled into a sneer, exposing as much of his snarl as he could manage. 

Malak laughed again, heartily, tilting his head back and licking his lips before pressing his face down to meet Draal’s stare. He returned Draal’s sneer with a smug grin of his own, showing off sharp, broken fangs. 

“Yes, you seem very fond of her… So, you must know firsthand what a delight she is. How DELICIOUS.” 

The fire consuming Draal flared to life, hotter than anything he had ever felt before. The rage crept up from his belly and released itself with a deafening roar as he snatched the taller troll’s head in his palms, slamming his head into the gravel below, resulting in a satisfying crack. 

Draal quickly slammed his hand back down onto the side of Malak’s skull, gripping it tightly as he grit his teeth. Malak seemed unshaken by the devastating blow though, laughing even more maniacally as he barely tried to grip Draal’s forearm. 

Kaba flinched at the laughter from over her shoulder. It was the first noise that had been able to break through her concentration as she worked on the device. Finger moved deftly, but she had begun to freeze in panic when she couldn’t pry open the faceplate of the machine. Gritting her jaw tight and setting her shoulders firm, she blocked out the noise from behind her and quickly looked around herself. Her gaze flitted to Malak’s dagger that she had mustered away and hadn’t tossed away. 

She quickly grabbed it and used it to pry the faceplate of the device open. Once she had, she gripped the solid plate in her hand and slammed it into the ground beside her, causing dozens of hairline fractures to spiderweb across the face of the device. Before placing the cracked faceplate back into it’s place on the device, she dragged her finger across the open wound on her palm, using the still wet blood to smear another symbol onto the back of the faceplate. 

A shaking breath escaped her and she let out a choked cry before muttering to herself. “Well, looks like we’ll just have to go out with a bang, you son of a bitch.”

Kaba stood up quickly and bolted towards Jim as soon as she caught sight of him. 

She slammed the device into his chest and gripped her hand behind his neck, pulling him close so she could speak into his ear. 

After receiving his instructions, Jim stared at the young woman dumbly for a moment before nodding. “You got it.” 

As soon as she received his reply, Kaba’s head swung to look for Draal. Catching sight of him, she shouted towards him, her voice starting to go hoarse and cracking. “Draal! Get away! Right now!” 

Upon hearing Kaba’s cry, Draal froze, managing to dodge one of Malak’s hands as it tried to grip hom. Thankfully, whatever part of his skull Draal had managed to crack had slowed him down, even if just barely. 

Kaba and Jim took off in unison, each aiming for their individual targets. 

“I said NOW, Draal! MOVE!” 

Draal finally managed to process Kaba’s words, veering away from Malak and towards the human woman, his feet thundering beneath him, the sound echoing in his ears. 

As Kaba ran she dipped her hand into her pocket and retrieved the leather satchel. Biting down on the leather cord holding it closer, she ripped it away, cupping her hand to keep the pouch from falling open completely. As soon as she and Draal we mere feet away from each other, she took a deep breath and held the leather pouch open in front of her, letting out as deep of a breath as she could manage. 

Suddenly a cloud of yellow powder billowed out in front of her, clouding the air and consuming Draal. With a flick of her hands, Kaba flung the last of the pile of powder at the troll, coughing as her lungs screamed for clean air. She vaguely heard Draal’s surprised cry and managed to see him flail for a moment as the powder clung to him, coating him from the tips of his horns to his toes. 

“What is this?!” Draal shouted, a slight panic to his voice as his mind tried to comprehend the attack. 

Kaba let out a cough before shouting back, her voice cracking harder. “Now, get down! Down, Draal! And cover your eyes!” 

Suddenly Draal felt hands gripping his horns and shoulder, yanking him down with every ounce of weight and strength the little human could muster. He let himself be pulled to the ground and felt the woman’s soft flesh against him as she braced her body against his face, gripping his horns tight in a feeble attempt to keep his face down and into her. 

“Do it, Jim!” 

“On it!” 

Draal recognized the young Trollhunter’s shout in response when suddenly a shrill screech wound itself up, higher and higher in pitch. The familiar noise nearly deafening. Less than a split second after the noise began though, Draal felt a distinctly hot feel wash over him. The powder around him seemed to harden and crackle, becoming uncomfortably hot. At the same time as the sensation overtook him, he heard a bone-chilling howl. 

After a moment, the heat around him seemed to mellow and Draal felt the softness of the woman unfurl slightly, taking in the aftermath. All the while the pained yowling continued, drowning out any other sounds around them. 

Draal looked up and started to brace himself to rise as the woman let him go. With each of his movements, he saw a dark, burnt orange layer across his skin crackle and chip away ever so slightly. He looked up to see Malak shrieking and writhing on the ground, merely feet away from them. Nearby, Jim panted heavily and clung to the broken remains of the mechanical device, staring in shock at the troll in front of him. 

As Malak shrieked and writhed, a dark grey began to settle into his skin, stiffening his body and crumbling in patches. 

One angry, panicked eyed searched around him in a flurry. As it settled on Kaba and Draal, the troll began to drag himself back up onto two feet. Patches of rumbled crumbled from him as he moved and crack, glowing at the human woman. His voice came out pained and gravely. 

“ You WITCH… How DARE you?!” 

Kaba tried to step back and away but Malak managed to lunge forward, gripping her by her arm. 

Before anyone could seem to react, his grip tightened around her arm as he let out a snarl, yanking her up and dragging her body up to his height. 

Kaba writhed in his grip, panicking as she watched the stone darken along his arm and his movements stiffened. Wild eyes flicked to meet his, a crazed, vile look hovering in his sole good eye. 

“You ungrateful little human wretch! I could have killed you and this is the thanks I get?! Fine then, Pet… let you suffer for this!” 

Malak’s grip around Kaba’s arm suddenly tightened, the stone patches reaching his hand and hardening as he slowly wound his grip tighter. 

Kaba squirmed and tried to pry free, unable to restrain a cry from escaping her lips as she felt her elbow slow grind and snap as it was compressed in the stone grip. Despite her struggling though, the grip around her hardened faster, pinning her arm tighter and tighter. Kaba panted, finally managing to take a labored breath, looking up into Malak’s face as she let her body limply hang by the trapped limb. She spat as forcefully as she could, a wet glob hitting Malak in the remaining good eyes. 

Through gritted teeth she hissed at him, managing to pull one side of her mouth into a sneer. 

“Fuck you, Malak… you shouldn’t have come looking for the Trollhunter. Now Arcadia can be your grave.” 

Malak let out a deafening roar and gripped the stone hand tighter. There was an audible crunch as a trickle of blood began to ooze from the stone fist and down Kaba’s shoulder. Unable to hold her cry back anymore, she screamed in pain as she felt the remains of her arm squelch into what must have been nothing more than a pulp. 

As the pained scream rang in Draal’s ears, his vision faded to red. Panic and anger flared back to life in his belly and overtook him. The sound of the human’s arm grinding and snapping was so jarring and unnatural that it made his insides turn. Before he could think of anything beyond the sound of that cry, he let out a ear-splitting yell and he found his body moving of it’s own accord. Draal heavily slammed a fist down into the other troll’s shoulder and arm. It quickly decayed and fell apart, severing from the rest of the troll’s still living body. 

Draal instantly reached out his opposite arm and catch the human woman, gripping her tight and pressing his arm as gently as possible to his chest. His breathing was panicked and shallow as he looked down as the human woman’s screams mellowed into heart-wrenching sobs. Draal quickly surveyed the arm but couldn’t make out much because of the sheer amount of blood painting it.

How could such a small human body even have so much of this inside of it, let alone coming out of it? Even he knew that much blood was bad. Very bad. And even he knew that a human’s arm should never be as mangled as the meaty pulp that was cradled into her body. That it shouldn’t ever look like that. 

The sight made his stomach lurch and he had force himself to look away before sheer panic set in. Despite her plump stature, the little human in his arm had never seemed as small as she did at that moment. 

Suddenly a creaking noise grabbed his attention and he saw Malak’s remains still heaving, trying to will himself to move before his body completely crumbled away. 

Draal shouted over his shoulder at the young Trollhunter, who was standing in shock. 

“Finish it, Trollhunter! I need to get the girl back to the Heartstone! Now!” 

Draal’s voice finally shook Jim from his stupor. “Sorry! Got it!” 

As Jim raised the heavy blade over his head to finish destroying the crumbling remains, Draal turned away and quickly began to make his way back towards Trollmarket. 

With each step he heard Kaba’s breathing hitch, followed by a worried chirp over his shoulder. Draal quickly turned to the noise and saw the small reptile had clambered onto his shoulder. The worry and fear in Draal’s stomach matched in the tiny creatures eyes. 

He tried to console the mechanical creature with a hushed breath when he heard Kaba’s voice rise up from his arm, causing him to panic and stop in his tracks. 

“What is it?!” 

Kaba grit her teeth, her eyes barely open and glazing over from pain. After a few labored breaths she managed to get her voice to obey her again. 

“Draal. I need you to calm down. I’m bleeding too much, I don’t know how much longer I can stay awake. I need you to tourniquet me arm. I have… I have a leather strap, just tie it as tightly as you can on my arm. Up here… under my shoulder a bit.” Kaba grimaced as she used her opposite arm to show where she meant.

Draal’s eyes went wide. “I can’t, Kaba. You’re so fragile. I’ll make it worse if I do that.” 

Kaba shook her head slightly. “It doesn’t matter. I need you to do this or I won’t be able to make it far enough to fix it. I’m gunna pass out soon… I’m getting… really lightheaded, Draal…” 

Draal watched the heaving rise and fall of her chest, turning after a moment to the small creature on his shoulder questioningly, though not expecting a response. 

Another pained cry escaped the woman’s lips and Draal found his resolve again, barely managing to beat his panic back down. He placed her on the ground, propping her up and rummaging to find the leather strap she had mentioned. 

By the time he found it, Kaba was fading in and out of consciousness, leaving Draal no more time to hesitate. Taking a silent breath, he wrapped the strap where she had indicated and tied it on tightly as he dared. Even what he had managed was far more than he was comfortable with, but he kept her words in mind and did as he was instructed. As panicked as he felt, he reminded himself how utterly clueless he was about humans. Never in his life had he thought he would regret not knowing more about humans. 

As he finished, he worked the young woman into his arm as gently and quickly as he could manage, using his opposite hand and arm to brace her and keep her from jolting with each of his movements. As soon as he felt he had her settled securely, he took off, faster than he had ever gone on two feet before. He found himself muttering to himself, wishing he could curl up and rocket off, but knowing he couldn’t. 

With a desperate glance at the young woman curling tightly into him, Draal felt an increasingly familiar twinge in his chest. Stronger and more painful than ever before. He found himself begging in the back of his mind for her to be okay. Silently ordering her to survive and go back to pestering him incessantly. 

Until now, when sentimental thoughts rose about the young human, he would quickly snuff them out. His pride and ego were far too big to even consider that his heart was changing; clinging so tightly to his ingrained loathing of her kind. Clinging to the thought that she was merely a pest he couldn’t wait to be free of. That they were just stupid, delicate sacks of meat.

Silently he berated himself. Pride, ego, all of it can be damned! He’d swallow it all so long as whatever entity or energy existed in the world didn’t take this broken human woman away.


End file.
